Love and Revenge
by Eris Rosemieri Discordia
Summary: Yuki Aburi is the second best student of her year. The Best is Sasuke Uchiha, She views him as an enemy and rival. But when they get put on the same squad, She finds herself falling for him. She doesn't want to be another fangirl but she wants to be able to express her feelings for him. Will she give into this love?
1. Chapter 1

Yuki

It was anthoer boarning day. Quite frankly I was ready for it to be over, not to go home or anything, I didn't have one. I was just tired of sitting around. And now Iruka Sensie is getting on to Naruto again! Ugh, what are we gonna have to do thanks to him now?

"Time for a transformatin jutsu test! Everyone line up! Transform perfectly into me!" Iruka said. _Ugh, not this again!_ I thought to myself as I got up to go to the front of the class with everyone else.

"Alright, First up Sakura Haruno." The girl in red with the pink hair went to stand infront of the teacher.

"Transform!"

"Very good."

"Did you see me Sasuke?" She said turning to the top student in our class. _Tsch! Why is every girl our year fawn over him. He's just another guy. I don't see the point._ I thought to myself as I wachted him successfully pull off the justu. Yes I too am a girl but that doesn't mean I get the point. I knew his whole story about being the last surviving member of the Uchiha family, but that still didn't make him any cooler to me. He was just another stuck up pain in the ass with an attitude problem.I didn't realize I had been glaring at him the entire time until he looked back.

"See something you like? Take a picture. It'll last longer." He said as he took a place next to mine. I was last in line of course.

"Why would I wan't anything from you? You may be an Uchiha, but that doesn't mean I want anything to do with someone like you. You're just a stuck up pain in the ass."

"Whatever." he said all too coolly. Great I pissed him off. _Now hopefully he'll just shut up and leave me alone. _I spoke all too soon. "What makes you think you're any better than I am."

"It's not that I think I'm any better than you. Your attitude just pisses me off. Like I said before, "You're nothing but a stuck up pain in the ass."

"Oh really now? And what does that make you? A snot-nosed little brat?" _That's it._

"Shut up or I'll beat you to a pulp."

"And what makes you think you can accomplish that?"

"You haven't seen my fighting. You don't know weather or not I can beat you."

"I'm pretty sure I can. And with out breaking a sweat."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're not worth the effort."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I'll -"

"Yuki Aburi." _I'm not going to let him get to me._

"You know what. You're not worth my effort either Uchiah." And with that I performed a perfect transformation jutsu.

Sasuke

_Hmm... So she's may not be all that clueless. Not like the other girls any way._ I said to myself as I watched Yuki perform her justu perfectly. As usual. If I weren't in this class, she'd be the top student. Still...

Yuki

School's out. Tommorrow's the graduation exam. I should train a little extra tonight. It's not like I have a home to go to. Not here anyway. I'm completely alone eversince my parents died and I was sent to "live" with my aunt whom I had never met. She took all of my inheritance and kicked me out. I've been living on the streets ever since. I earned money by doing odd jobs and used it to buy clothes and food and other necessary items. So I'm doing pretty well for a street rat.

I went to the spot where I usually trained and began. I kept at it untill I could no longer stand. Then I climbed the nearest tree and slept in it's branches.

Sasuke

Our graduation exam is today. I trained last night so I shoud be good. As walked to the academy I noticed movement in the trees near me. I looked to see what it was and noticed that someone was sitting up in the braches. I climbed the tree to find Yuki. She was asleep. I debated weather or not I should wake her and decided to go ahead and do it. I shook her shoulder gently. I felt guilty about waking her though. She look so peacful. As soon as my hand touched her, her facial expression changed. She began to cry.

"No... Mom... Dad., Don't leave me. No...No.." I shook her a little harder.

"Yuki, wake up. Yuki. You need - AHhhhh!" we both yelled as we fell to the ground. I quickly grabbed her in both my arms and flipped my body so I landed on my feet. When we landed, I was holding her bridal style and she was clutching my shirt.

"Are you ok?" I asked her.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Were you sleeping out here all night?'

"Yeah, I guess I did." She said blushing and rubbing the back of her head. "I had meant to just take a short nap after training so hard,but I guess I slept through the night." I had a feeling she was lying but I pretended that I believed her anyway.

"Come on. Let's go. We've got a test to pass." I said and continued on my way.

Yuki

I can't believe he bought that story. That was close. The last thing I need is for someone like him taking pitty on me. I continued on my way to the academy. Today would decide weather I graduate and become a ninja or not. I had to pass it, no matter what!

"Alright everyone. To graduate you have to do a Shadow Clone Justu. When you're called come to the next room." Iruka Sensie said.

_Ha! Peice of cake! That's my best one! _

"Alright. Yuki Aburi,"

_And of course call me as soon as that thought pops into my head. _I thought as I went into the next room. Mizuki Sensei was in there too.

"Alright, Yuki, you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright then go."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I managed to create three clones perfectly.

"Well done. I would expect no less. You pass!" I took my head band and went back to the other room as I tied it on my forehead. I took my seat as the next student was called.

"It's a good look on you," Someone said next to me. It was Sasuke Uchiha. As usual.

" too." _Wait did I just- Dammit._

"Well I got something other than an insult out of you. That's surprising."

"Yeah, and it's the only time that you'll ever get anything like that out of me." I said then continued to stare off into space. I didn't want to talk to him. All he ever does is piss me off. Just then the incident at the tree popped into my mind. _No, no, no, no, no! I am NOT going to think about that ever again. EVER!_ I thought to myself. _That only happened once and it will never happen again._

"You're thinking about the tree incident arn't you?" He inquired.

"What, you read minds too?"

"No, it's just the look of disgust on your face."

"Yeah? Well since when are you so interested on what's on my mind?"

"I'm not."

"Then stop talking to me." I was rather satisfied when he didn't say anything. We sat there until they dismissed us. I went to the training grounds again. I hate being stuck at second best. In the graduation exam, Sasuke created four clones. He's always one step ahead of me, but if I get stronger, I can best him. I was practicing my kuni and shuriken throwing skills when I sened someone watching me.

"Who's there?"

"Just me." It was Sasuke. Again.

"Are you stalking me now?"

"No, I came here to train. You just happened to be here when I decided to. So don't flatter yourself."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I said and continued throwing.

"Hey."

"Hmmm?"

"Wanna just have a practice fight. Just spar. Taijutsu only. No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Deal?" I thought about it for a second.

"Fine."

"Alright then. Let's go!" He came at me without a seconds warning. I managed to put my guard up just a split second before his fist connected with my face. I reached my foot out to kick but he dodged it quite effectively. I then went for a puch of my own. He grabbed my fist in his hand and I did the same to his. Risking dislocating my arm, I spun to kick him. He dodged backwards, letting go of me. I did the same. We went at eachother again and again, each time it came up at a draw.

"You've gotten better, Yuki."

"Heh, the last time we fought like this we were kids. So of course I have. If it weren't for you I would be the top student of our year." We went on, blocking and dodging, hitting and kicking. He finally broke through my guard, his fist hit me in the face. I flew back several feet and acam to a stop at the base of a tree. I got up and went at him. I kicked him in the shin but he punched me in the stomach. I cried out as I felt something crack.

"Face it, Yuki. You're going to lose."

"Not if I can help it." I was running out of breath, My heart was pounding and my lungs burned. My body hurt. But I wasn't going to be beat.. Not by him. That's when I mabe my mistake. I ran at Sasuke blindly, not thinking. He grabbed my arm ant threww mw to the ground.

"I win."

"No, you don't." I said as I kicked his feet out from under him. He landed on top of me. I roled over, putting me on top and strattled him so I could pin him. Then he rolled over ontop of me. By the time we finished doing this Sasuke had me pinned. my legs were wrapped around his torso and each of my arms were pinned by my head. His knee was on my pelvis. But I kept struggling.

"Yuki, it's over, I've won." When I didn't stop struggling he put more pressure on his knee, therefor putting more wait on me. I cried out. "If I press any harder, I'll break your pelvic bone." I quit strugglenig then, aknowladging that the fight was over and Sasuke had won. "You done now?"

"Yes, now get off of me." he got up and I did as well.

"It's late. We should head home."

"Right. I'll see you later." As I started walking away I fell and cried out in pain. Sasuke was by my side in seconds.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, but I think I twisted my ankle."

"Can you walk on it?"

"I can try." I stood up with sauske's help and put wait on my hurt foot. I only cried out in pain and fell again.

"I'll carry you to my place. We can take care of it there. You can stay the night if you want."

"Thanks." Sasuke bent down and picked me up. We walked to his house. Once we got there he sat me down and I stood on one foot as he unlocked the door. He picked me back up again and put me on the couch.

"Stay here, I'm going to go get some ice for you."

"Okay." When he came back he took off my shoe and put the ice on my ankle.

"The swelling should go down shortly." he sat with me until it did then bandaged it up for me.

"Why are you being so nice to me."

"Because I don't have areason not to."

"Whatever." Said laying my head on the arm next to me. Sasuke was saying something else but I passed out befor he could.

Sasuke

"Well -" I started to say before I notice that she was already asleep. I couldn't help but smile. Awake she looked rather feirce but asleep she looked innocent and vulerable. Like a small child. I got some blackets and covered he up and put a pillow under her head.

"Goodnight, Yuki." I whispered to her then took myself to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuki

I woke up in Sasuke's house. At first I was suprised, then I remembered last night. Sasuke had beat me again.

_Ahhhh! No he beat me again! _I thought to myself. Oh well. I got up and started walking into the kitchen where I figuered Sasuke was, because I could here noise coming from there. I was right of course.

"Good morning , Yuki." He said without looking up from his bowl of rice cereal. This seemed really awkward.

"Good morning." I half yawned half grumbled. I am not a morning person.

"You can have whatever you want to eat."

"Okay, thanks." I said reaching for the cereal at the top of the fridge. Of course he had to put it just out of reach at the back. Ugh. While I was still reaching for it, I felt a body press against mine from behind. Sasuke read over me and the fridge and got the cereal. That felt really awkward.

"Hear you go." he said handing them to me.

"Thanks." I opened the frisge and got the milk out then got a bowl out of the cabinet then got a spoon. Then I sat down at the table across from Sasuke. We at in silence. Sasuke was the first one done. He got up and put his bowl in the sink. I finished a split second after and di the same. Then I proceded to wash the dishes.

"You don't have to do that you know."

"I know, I'm just trying to be nice. It's only common manners."

"hmph.."

"Whatever." I said as I continued to wash the dishes. When I finished I brushed my hair in Sauke's bathroom and went on to go get my picture done, so I could get my profile completed. This was going to show the world a reprsentaion of me and how I represtent my village.

I took my picture and went straight to the Hokage's office.

"This is a good photo, Yuki." The Hokage said. "The blue shirt and headband bring out your eyes too." He was right, it did compliment my ice blue eyes well.

"You represent this village well in both looks and skill. You and Sasuke Uchiha are both modle reprsenetives."

"Thank you, sir."

"You are the top female student and the second best student from the academy this year. You list your talents and hobbies well and you show very good self control. All in all, you are a good student."

"Thank you,sir."

"You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir." I left the office. As I walked down the hall, I passed Sasuke.

"You know, It's getting kinad creepy how you keep following me everywhere." I teased.

"Again, I'm not following you, YOu just happen to be there." He sighed. He seemed really moody now.

"Whatever." I said and continued walking down the hall. I figured I'd just go to the training ground again. It's the only place I have to go...

Sasuke

When I woke this morning I was going to wake Yuki up, but she looked so peacefull. I would end up feeling guilty if I had. So I let her sleep. She actually looked kindda pretty. But she woke on her own. I have a feeling that's the first time in a while that she had slept in a house. I'll shadow her for awhile and see if I'm right. She needs a home and she needs someone to look after her. I know she has an aunt but She never goes there and her aunt doesn't even claim her.

"You're worried about her." The Hokage said.

"Huh?"

"Yuki, you're worried about her."

"How-?"

"I may be old, but I have my ways. It's alright. The fact that you're worried about someone else is normal. Follow her if you want to. Protect her. She needs someone. Be the protector she needs."

"Yes,sir." I said and walked out. I already knew where she was. The training grounds. I would just shadow her and keep an eye on her. If she had a place to stay then I would leave her alone. If she didn't then I would wait to see who was on her team and ask one of them to take her in. Like everyone she need a home, and I was going to give her one.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuki

I slept at the training grounds last night. Today I was going to find out who was going to be on my squad . I hoped that Sasuke wasn't on my squad. Watch it be so. Still. I walked in my old class room and sat down. I was the first one here. Or so I thought until I saw Sasuke a few rows ahead of me. Of course, he one-upped me again. Dammit. I starred off into space as more people poured into the class room. Conversations started. I looked around at the faces I recognized. Surprisingly Naruto Uzamaki was there too. I guess he graduated after all. It was only what, his third year? Oh well, who cares. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka were arguing over who sits next to Sasuke. Naruto got up on the desk in front of him and he and Sasuke were glaring daggers at each other. Just then the kid in front of Naruto accidently elbowed him in the back. All the girls except for me froze. I on the other hand busted out laughing. They just kissed! I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath. Now they were throwing threats at each other. Sakura beat him for it.

_Idiots. Hopeless idiots. _Just the Iruka Sensie walked in .

"Now you will soon get missions to help the village. So today we will create three man squads and each team will have a Jounin sensei. You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions."

_Hmm, this'll be interesting._

"We tried to balance out each team's strength. OK so now I'll start calling out names." I ignored the first six teams then I got the feeling that I should start listening.

"Ok... Next is team seven. Sakura Hanuro, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchihah and Yuki Aburi." After Naruto made some complaint about being on the same team as Sasuke, I raised my hands.

"Yes, Yuki."

"Iruka Sensei, why does our squad have four instead of three."

"Your team has four because 28 students graduated. Your team got the odd man. And Naruto, Sasuke's grades are the best out of all 28 students and yours were dead last. Do you understand, we have to do this to balance the teams , right?" Sasuke said something to Naruto and now those two were at it again.

"Ok, this afternoon we'll introduce your Jounin sensei's. Until then, take a break." I immediately went out the nearest window. I had to go burn some steam_. Naruto and Sasuke. Good god I'm doomed._ I thought to myself as i jumped from tree to tree. I went running for a while just to tire myself out.

Sasuke

After taking care of Naruto, I went to find Yuki. She was at the training grounds blowing off steam. I threw a kuni, missing her by inches.

"What the hell?! That coulda hit me!"

"But it didn't."

"It could have!"

"Whatever, look I came here to talk to you."

"About what."

"I know that you're sleeping in the training grounds. I know that you have no where to live and you don't tell anybody because you don't want them to pity you. But look, I'm not taking pity on you, I'm just offering. Since we're on the same team it would benefit both of us. Come and stay with me. you'll be able to do more with your time and money and I can help you start to get on your feet." She looked down at her feet. "Look if you don't want to you don't have to. It's up to you.."

"I will. You're right, it will help both of us. " I was relieved she had accepted my offer. Why? I don't know. I just was.

"But, will I still be sleeping on the couch?"

"No, I have a spare room."

"Ok."

"Wanna go get it set up?"

"Maybe later, right now we have to go meet our new sensei."

"Right, let's go." And we set off.


	4. Chapter 4

Yuki

We were sitting and waiting on our sensei. We were the only team left.

"Naruot, just sit down or something." Sakura said.

"Why is our team 7 sensei so damn late?! All the other teams have gone off with their sensei's and Iruka sensei also left." After that he started climbing on a chair and stuck an eraser in the top of the door.

"Hey! What are you doing , Naruto?!" Sakura said.

"That's what you get for being late." he said. _Idiot _ I thought to myself.

"i'm not involved."Sakura said, but you could tell she was loving the situation.

"Pffft. Like a jounin would fall for such a stupid booby tra[." Sasuke chimed in

"you guys are all idiots." I said. Just then our sensie walked in. The earaser fell on his head. Creating a cloud of chalk dust.

"You fell for it! You fell for it!" Naruto said.

"I'm so sorry Sensei, I tried to stop Naruto but..." Sakura said, appoligizing.

_Is this guy really a jounin? He doesn't seem very reliable. _I thought to myself. He stood there and put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"Hmm... How can I put this? My first impression is... I don't like you guys."

_Geeezzz... Thanks alot Naruto. _I thought to myself. We went to the top of thid builging.

"Well, let's begin with introducing yourselves." The white haired jounin said.

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.

"How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future and things like that."

"Hey, Hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, you look kinda suspicious." Sakura added.

_Did she really just call our sensie suspocious? _I thought to myself.

"Oh me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future... hmm... And I have lots of hobbies." He said.

_Smart ass... Wait no. Jack ass is more like it._ I thought to myself.

"So, all he told us was his name." Sakura said.

"It's your turn, let's start over here on the right."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. What I like is cup ramen. What I like even more is when Iruka Sensei pays for my ramen. What I dislike is waiting 3 minutes for the ramen to cook."

_Does he only ever think about ramen?_ I asked myself.

"And my dream, is to surpass the hokagae and then have the people of this village aknowledge my existence!"

_Guess not._

"My hobbies, pranks I guess."

"I see, next."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything. I can't really call it a dream, but I have an ambition. The resurection of my clan and to kill a certain man."

_Interesting. But of course as always Sasuke has to make himself look sooo cool. Tsch, typical._

"Ok... Next."

"My name is Yuki Aburi." I stated. "And I don't feel obliged to tell you anything else."

"Okay and lastly is the girl with the pibk hair."

"My name is Sakura Hanuro. the thing I like is *giggle* Well the person I like is *giggle giggle* And umm.. My dream for the future.. Uhm.. *giggle giggle giggle* Oh yeah! What I dislke is is NARUTO!.My hobby is.. *giggle*"

_Hopeless. She's more interested in Sasuke then being a ninja._

"Ok. Tomorrow we'll start our duties as shinobi."

"Yeah! What kind of duties?" Naruto interupted.

"First we are something with just the four of us."

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto interrupted again. If he's shut up he would get around to it.

"Suvival training."

"Suvival training?"

"why is our first mission training? We've had enpough training at the academy."

"Idiots training is the only way to develope your skills as a shinobi. How do you think we have such great fighters like the hokages?" I said. God these two were annoying.

"This isn't normal training. This time I'm your opponent."

"Then what is it?" Naruto said. Kakashi stated laughing.

"What's so funny, Sensie?" Sakura asked.

"Uhm... Well... It's just that when I tell you this you guys are totally going to freak out."

"Freak out?" Naruto said, as if he didn't know the meaning of the word.

"Of the 28 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become a genin, in this cas 10, the rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%." Then I saw Sasuke do something I've never seen him do before. It was only a split second and a very small movement, but he lost his cool and his hand stated shaking. I couldn't blame him. we were all freaking out. "I told you you'd freak out."

"What? No way! But we worked so hard. Then what was the point of graduating?" Naruto said, or rather yelled.

"Oh that? That was just to select those who had the chance to become a genin."

"What!?" Naruto was totally freaking out. God he's annoying.

"Anyway, tommorow you have to shou your real skills on the training ground. Bring all the shinobi tools you have. OH, and skip breakfast, you'll might puke. The details are on this paper and don't be late tommorow."

"Throw up! Is it that tough?" Sakura said. Kakashi didn't answer. I left, Sasuke fallowed.

Sasuke

I had to pass no matter what. Otherwise I won't be able to kill Itachi. I caught up with Yuki.

"So are you going home?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I'll come with you so I can let you in."

"Huh, oh yeah I forgot about that." I chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing. You just seem stressed. That's 't let all this get to you. You'll pass."

"And you're not bothered by this at all?"

"No."

"Liar."

"Whatever, let's get you set up."

"Ok."

"Come on." I led her inside. "Here I'll show you to your room." I led her back and opened the door to the room I was going to let her stay in. "You can stay here."

Yuki

I looked at my new room. It had a queen sized bed that had a canopy. There was a walkin closet. It even had it's own bathroom. It was beautiful. Like something at out of a dream. Well, if you liked white beds with white canopies. The bed frame was black and the dresser, vanity and nightstand all matched. The room as a dark red with black trim. It was beautiful.

Not thinking, I threw my arms around Sasue and hugged him tightly.

"Thankyou! I love it!" He laughed and hugged me back.

"You're welcome." Realizing what I was doing, I quickly let go and walked into the room.

"Go and open the closet door. There's some clothes that you can wear in there."

"OK, thanks." He then left. I then walked over to the bed and laid down. I fell asleep in seconds.

Sasuke

I woke early. I slept well knowing that Yuki was safe. I went down stairs and noticed she wasn't there. I went up to her room and knocked on the door, No answer. I opened the door and looked insode. She was still asleep. I walked over to her bed and looked down at her. She looked so vulnerable and at peace. Completely beautiful. I reached out to her. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.

"You care for her... Don't you? Little brother." I turned around to see Itachi.

"Itachi..."

"If you care for her then your hatred is even weaker than I thought,"

"Shut up! You know nothing about me! You know nothing ... About MY HATRED!" I rushed at him with my kuni drawn. He dissapeared.

"Where did he go!"

"Sasuke..." It was Yuki. I turned around. Itachi had Yuki in his arms. He was holding a kuni to her throat.

"Yuki!"

"I'll take her away from you, Sasuke. Just like I took everything else away from you, And all you can do is stand there and watch." I tried to run towards them but I couldn't move. _Why , _her head with one hand and held her chin with the other, forcing her to look at him. He the kissed her.

"Keep your hands off her!" She struggled weakly against him. She couldn't breath. He was suffocating her. He removed his mouth from her's. He started kissing her neck.

"N-No! Stop!" Yuki whimpered. She seemed to be crying. "Sasuke! Help me. Please!" I wanted to, but I couldn't move. He started taking off her clothes piece by piece, using his kuni. He cut her several times. She cried out. Everytime she did, I felt as if I was dying slowly. After all of her clothed were off and she was copetely exposed, he started taking off his own.

"Itachi! Stop it! Leave her alone!" I screamed.

"You want me to leave her alone yet you do nothing to stop me." He said, adjusting her so that she was sitting in his lap but she was facing me. Her body was covered in bleeding cuts. She looked as if she were ready to pass out.

"Y-Yuki..."

"She has a beautiful body, Sasuke. It's too bad... that you won't be able to experiance it I will." She screamed as he forced himeself into her.

"NO! Stop! Stop it! You're hurting her!" I screamed as i tried to break free of whatever was holding me there.

"No, this is hurting her." He said as I watched the tip of a kuni portruded through her abdomin. She looked down then looked at me.

"S- Sasuke..." Itachi let go of her and she fell forward. I ran to catch her.

"Yuki! Yuki no!"

I shot out of bed. My entire body was covered in a cold sweat. It was time for me to get up. Yuki should be up too. I walked to her room and knocked on the door. No answer, just like my nightmare. I opened it and looked inside. She was still asleep. I walked over to her bed to wake her. Just like in my dream I noticed how beautiful she was, I shook her shoulder gently. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Sasuke?"

"Hey, You should get up. We'll have to leave for the training grounds soon."

"Oh, Ok." She said. I got out so she could get dressed and waited for her down stairs. It was alittle while before I heard any movement at the top of the stairs but once I did I looked up and saw a rather beautiful sight. She looked amazing, even if she was wearing mother's old clothes. She wore a Kimono like top that was black and had a fire pattern on it with long black pants. And she wore her hair down. Yuki was extremely beautiful.

Yuki

Sasuke was staring at me. I felt a slight blush try to crawl to my face and quickly concealed it.

"What ar you staring at, Uchiha?"

"What? OH, nothing. You just look..Wow." I couldn't help but laugh. It was one of those few moments when the young Uchiha lost that composure of his.

"I just look wow?" he started to say something in protest. "It's okay. I'm only teasing you."

"Come on, let's go."

"Right." We left for the training grounds and met up there with Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi Sensie showed up rather late.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura said simotaniously. I really didn't care. He pulled out an alarm clock.

"Ok, set for noon." He then held up two bells. "Here are two bells. Your tas is to take these from me before the time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon, get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat right infront of you. _So that's why he told us not to eat._ "You only have to get one bell. There are only two, so atleast two of you wil be sent back to the academy. If you want, you can use Shurikens as kunais. You won't succeed unless you come at me itending to kill."

"But you'll be in danger!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're so slow you can't even dodge a blackboard eraser. We'll deffinitely kill you!" Naruto laughed.

"In the real world, those woth no talent often bark the loudest. Well.. Ignore me Mr. Deadlast, and start when I say." When I looked at Naruto he was ready to snap. No scratch that we had snapped. He pulled out a Kunai and ran at Kakashi. Kakshi grabbed Naruto and bent his arm backwards. He Made it to where he could make Naruto stabb himself in the back of the head at any point of time he wanted to.

"Calm down. I haven't said start yet."_ This guy was holding back before. He's dangerouse._ "Well, it seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowlodged me? It seems I'm beging to like you guys. Ok, let's get going. Ready... Beigin!" We all dispersed into different hiding spots. _Let the games begin!_


	5. Chapter 5

Yuki

The most important thing for a shinobi is to be able to hide yourself. We had that down pretty well. Well except for Naruto. He was standing out in the open, directly challenging Kakashi Sensie.

"Come here and fight me! I said Fight me!"

"Umm... you're a bit off." _A bit! More like a whole hell of a lot! _I said to myself.

"The only thing that's a bit off is your hair cut." _Really? That's the best you can come up with? Baka! _I thought to myself. I watched as Naruto ran at Kakashi then stopped dead in his tracks.

"Shinobi fighting lesson #1, Taijutsu. I'll teach you about it." Kakashi Sensei said as he reached into his weapon's pouch. _Taijutsu? that's hand to hand combat. And he was going to use a weapon. Naruto was done for. _I thought. Then Sensei just pulled out a book and started reading.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and attack me!"

"But... Hey! What's with the book?"

"I just want to know what happens next, but don't worry, it won't make a difference against you guys." Ok underestimating Naruto is one thing. He's an idiotic loser, any one can underestimate him, but you underestimate me and you got a whole hell of another thing coming, buddy. I woulda attacked him right then and there if the situation were different, but it wasn't, I had to keep my cool and stay hidden until the moment were right. Other words I was dead. Much like Naruto.

"I'll totally kick your ass!" Naruto yelled as he charged the white-haired sensei, totally losing control as usual. Kakashi blocked every one of Naruto's hits without even looking away from his book. Then he suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind the blond idiot of a ninja.

"A shinobi isn't supposed to get caught from behind... Baka." He was making the tiger hand sign. _That's the sign for a fire style jutsu. He's really gonna kill Naruto!_

"Naruto! Run away! You're going to get killed!" Sakura screamed, giving away her position. She was somewhere to my left. At least 20 yards away.

"Too late." Sensei replied. "Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supream Teachniqu: A 1000 Years of Pain!" It wasn't a fire jutsu. He just poked him in the ass. _There both idiots! _Naruto flew threw the air and landed in the lake. Two shurikens flew from the lake, threw the air and straight at Kakashi while he was reading his book. He just laughed and caught them on his fingers.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell before noon, you won't get lunch." Kakashi said, still reading.

"I know! I know!" Naruto yelled back.

"You sure are weak for someone who's going to surpass the hokage."

"Damnit! I can't fight on an empty stomach!" _Idiot! He's going to fail and he's worrying about food. _

"I was just a little careless that's all!"

"Carelessness can be your worst enemy, you know?" My stomach was growling now to, but I was fine as long as I didn't think about it. _Just don't think about it. Focus on Kakashi! _I told myself. Clones jumped up out of the water.

"Ha! My new jutsu: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu! You better not get careless there are more then one of me now!" There were 8 of him. They were real, not just illusions. _Well, well, he can finally perform the jutsu and not completely fail at it. Not bad, Naruto._

"Not just Bushins but Kage Bushins. A skill that multiplies your body and not just make an illusions." Was all Sensei replied with. "You probably can only hold this for a minute. No matter how many you line up... You are still Naruto, you can't beat me with that jutsu." Just then one of the clones grabbed Kakashi from behind. Shoulda taken his own advice.

"A shinobi's not supposed to get caught from behind. Right Kakashi Sensie? I sent a clone out of the water to sneak up behind you. My ass still hurts! Here's payback!" _Nice plan, Naruto. You're pretty good._ I thought to myself as Naruto flew through the air at him. Then, when his fist made contact I realized that NAruto had hit another clone. Kakashi had pulled a jutsu.

"You're Kakashi Sensie aren't you?! You used Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Then all of his clones started attacking eachother. _The idiot. All he has to do is release the jutsu, then all those who would be left would be him and Kakashi. That is if it wasn't just a replacement jutsu. _I thought to myself. Finally, he get's smart and thinks of the act himself. _Heh, took him long enough! _It was a Replacement Jutsu. I noticed a look on Naruto's face. He was completely happy. I looked to the place where he was staring at. There was a bell on the ground. It was a bell. An obvious trap and Naruto fell for it. _Never take the bait. Especially if it seems to be too good to be true. Baka! _I thought to myself.

"Heehee! He must have been desperate to escape. He dropped a bell!" Naruto said, giggling. _3...2...1 and there it goes. Yep it was a trap._

"What the hell is this?!" Naruto yelled as he hung upside down from his feet. The idiot Kakashi bent down and picked up the bell that was just a few inches from where Naruto hung. _Even when just playing around Kakashi doesn't leave an opening at all. how are we gonna get one of those bells. _

"Think before using a jutsu or it could be used against you, And also, don't fall for such obvious traps, baka. A shinobi must be able to see what's underneath the under-"

"I KNOW THAT!" Naruto yelled back.

"I'm telling you because you don't know..." Just then I saw my opening, I had to get him while he was distracted with Naruto. I threw several kuni and shuriken. At the same time, someone directly opposite of me did the same. I assumed it was Sasuke since Sakura wouldn't have done it. She would be too scared to. All the weapons hit their mark. I suddenly felt that that was too easy.

"Sasuke, You bastard, you went too far!" Naruto yelled. Just then, Kakashi turned into a log. _What! He used a replacement jutsu! I have to move fast or he'll find me! _I thought, mentally kicking myself as I went to find a new hiding spot. I hoed that he wouldn't find me, so I kept running till I was sure that I was clear of him. Still, I had to keep an eye in him. I heard Sakura scream. It was too close for comfort, so I changed direction. I wasn't ready to face Kakashi just yet. I stopped when the flash of a headband caught my eye. Sasuke was about to square off with Sensei now. I thought about helping then decided to stay out of the way and wait for an opening to attack. _This is going to be interesting... _

"The village's most powerful clan, the Uchiha clan. This could be interesting." Kakashi said, voicing my thoughts. Sasuke pulled several shurikens from his pouch and threw then in Kakashi's direction. Unsurprisingly, Kakash Sensei effectively dodged it.

"Such obvious attacks are useless." Just the Sasuke smirked, he had planned for that to happen. "A trap?" A ton of blades flew at Sensei, which he again dodged. Sasuke appeared behind him and kicked. Kakashi blocked it just in time. He then grabbed Sasuke's ankle. At the same time Sasuke punched. Kakashi grabbed his fist with the other hand. Sasuke kick with his other leg, went upside down and went for a bell. I stared in astonishment as it seemed he would get it when Kakashi backed away just in time. Sasuke only managed to touch one. He landed perfectly as Kakashi landed a few feet away.

"Well, I have to acknowledge that you are different from the others. Then again, I haven't gone against Yuki yet. She may be better, or she may be worse." Sasuke started making hand signs. _...Horse... Tiger. He's doing a fire jutsu! Is that Fireball Jutsu? He's really going all out._

"What?!" I heard Kakashi say. Fire engulfed him in a mater of seconds. When it cleared I didn't see a charred body. _He escaped it. _Sasuke started looking all around him.

"Below you." Kakashi's voice said. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" I watched as Sasuke was dragged under ground up to his neck. "Shinobi fighting lesson #3: Ninjutsu. Well you're already way further than the others." He said as he knelt to eye level with Sasuke. He then got up and turned away. "But hey, they say an exposed nail should be hammered in." He laughed as he walked away,

"Damn you!" Sasuke retorted. I followed the white haired sensei. He went to where Naruto was about to eat one of the lunches. "Hey, buddy."

"That was a joke." Naruto said nervously.

"What do you think you're doing?" Just as he finished with Naruto, I attacked, throwing a kick at his head. he dodged and I threw two kunis at him.

"You're taking this seriously. Then I'll do the same." He came at me. I raised my fist, aiming once again for his face. just before I could connect he hit me in the gut, sending me flying backwards. I landed hard on the ground. The breath was knocked clean out of me. _he came at me with such force. He's expecting more from me than the others. Then I'll give it to him. _I got up and ran at him. As I made my way towards him, I threw several more kunai and shurikans. He dodged them all effectively, not getting hit a single time. I tried to kick him once more and ended up like Sasuke. I used his technique. And ended the same way, only just managing to touch one. He came at me again. I managed to block a blow to the face, only to get punched in the stomach again.

"You'll have to do better than that, Yuki." I ran at him and jumped into the air, meaning to land a blow to his head. He grabbed my ankle and then punched me in the face. I was sent flying back into a tree. I cried out when I hit it, feeling a rib or two crack. He punched me in the stomach again while I was still against the tree. I spat out blood as I cried out in shock and pain.

"If this was a real battle, Yuki, you would've been dead." he said, holding me to the tree by my throat.

"I don't think so." I said, swiping at him with a kunai I just pulled out. I managed to cut his arm as he backed off. I ran at him, kunai held up in the air. He grabbed my wrist, pinning it behind my back and twisted and the tightened his hold, causing me to cry out as I dropped the knife.

"If you keep moving, you're going to break your wrist."

"I don't care!" I said, reaching back with my free hand to grab a bell. Just as my finger tip touched it I felt cold metal on my neck. Instinctively, I froze.

"You may not care about breaking your wrist, but I'm sure you care about your own life."

"You wouldn't kill me."

"Remember when I said at the beginning to take this as seriously as a real mission? I meant ever word. So yes, I will kill you. Just as a real opponent would." My breath caught in my throat. _I can't die here! Not now! Not when- _The alarm sounded, signaling the end of this mission.

"Damn!" I said as Kakashi released me. He started to walk off, then looked back at me.

"Oh and Yuki, I wasn't actually going to kill you." He said in a bored tone.

"Why you son of a -" I stopped myself, deciding that he wasn't worth the breath. Ten minutes later, Sasuke, Sakura and I all sat near Naruto where our lunches were.

"You guys look really hungry. Oh, and by the way, something about the training. Well there's no need for you guys to go back to the academy." We all looked at him, surprise written clearly on our faces.

"Then, then all four of us!" Naruto and Sakura rejoiced triumphantly while Sasuke and I just sat there. Something told me that we shouldn't be happy.

"Yep, all four of you should quit as shinobi!"


	6. Chapter 6

Yuki

"All three of you should quit as ninjas." My heads snapped up. _What did he just say? _I asked myself.

"Quit at ninjas?! What does that mean?!" Naruot yelled. "OK! Ok! So we couldn't get the bells , but why do we have to quit?!"

"Because, all of you are just punks who don't deserve to be ninjas." I felt the wind Before I actually saw Sasuke get up. He ran at Kakashi, yelling. Kakashi's comment had really pissed him off.

"Sasuke!" I heard Sakura call out to him. Kakashi grabbed his wrist and pinned it behind his back, pinning him to the ground as well, as he sat on top of him and said.

"That's why you're a punk."

"No! Don't step on Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. _God, she's as annoying as Naruto. _I thought to myself.

"Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh? Why do you think that you were divided into teams and are doing this training?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Sakura said. She seemed to have mellowed out some now.

"Basically, you guys are not understanding the answer to this test."

"Answer?" Naruto inquired.

"Yes, the answer that helps you pass this test."

"So, when are you going to give it to us?" It was Sakura who asked the question this time, which was greeted by silence.

"Ahhh! Damn it! What's the answer already?!" Naruto yelled, frustrated.

"It's teamwork." He said, glaring at us. "The four of you working together may have gotten the bells."

"What do you mean teamwork? There are only two bells!" Sakura pointed out. "Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other."

"Of course! This test is purposefully set up to make you fight amongst yourselves." Kakashi said, irritated. "the purpose is to see if you can forget about your own interest and successfully work together under these designed circumstances. Yet, you guys." He said that last part with a sigh. "Sakura, instead of Naruro, who was right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke, who was far away. Naruto you were just running around by yourself. Sasuke! You and Yuki just assumed everyone else would get in your way and tried to do everything by yourselves. The duties are done by the team. Of course superior individual ability is important to a ninja, but what's even more important is teamwork. Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger. And even get you killed. For example..." There was a short pause before Kakashi took out a Kunai knife and held it to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

"What!" I heard Naruto yell as I pulled my own knife out, ready to defend myself.

"You see? If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and then die. You will be risking your lives in these duties." He got up and walked over to the memorial stone. "Look at this. The numerous names carved on this stone. these are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey,, hey!" Naruto yells, making me want to throw something at him. "I've decided to get my name carved on that stone too! Hero! Hero! That's what I'll become!" _Idiot... _I thought to myself. I would love to be a hero, but not like that. Not like those who's names are on that stone.

"But, they aren't normal heroes."

"Then what kind are they?" Naruto asked, oblivious. "What?! What?!"

"They are all heroes who died on duty." His smile disappeared almost instantly. "This is a memorial. My best friend's name is also carved here." I couldn't imagine what it was like to lose your best friend. "I'll give you guys one more chance. But after lunch, I'll make it even harder to get the bells. Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch, but don't give any to Naruto."

"Huh?" a disgruntled Naruto said.

"It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself. If anyone gives him food they will fail immediately. I am the rules here! Got it?" And with that he left. the three of us sat down with our lunch and started eating.

"Heh! I don't need any food. I'm fine!" Naruto said as we all heard his stomach growl. I started eating. Occasionally I would look over at Sasuke. This was the most frustrated I've ever seen him and for some odd reason it worried me.

"What?" He said when he noticed me looking.

"Nothing." I said. "What? I can't stare off inn any direction I choose?"

"Whatever." Then it went back to silence. Sasuke looked over at Naruto. Then he did something I really didn't expect.

"Here." He said, holding out his tray of food.

"Hey, Sasuke, Sensei just said-"

"Don't worry, I don't sense him near here. After lunch we'll work together and get the bells. Without food, he'll just be in the way and that will only hurt us." He had a point. Sakura offered Naruto her lunch instead.

"Thanks." Naruto said. Just then, a huge cloud of smoke appeared in front of us. Sakura and Naruto screamed as me and Sasuke prepared to fight.

"What's this!? You guy?!" Kakashi seemed angry. "Pass" He said with a smile.

"Pass? But why?" Sakura asked as we all stared at him, clearly confused.

"You guys are the first. Everyone else would just do whatever I told them. They were all just morons. A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash. But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades... are lower than trash." He said staring back at us. "That ends the training. All of you pass! OK! Starting tomorrow team #7 will begin it's duties!" He said, giving us all a thumbs up.

"Yay! I did it! I did it! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto said. I looked at Sasuke. He look happy and even relieved.

"Let's go." He said,

"Yeah." I agreed. as we all walked off i heard Naruto behind me.

"God Damn it! I Knew this would happen! Untie me!" _Oops! _I laughed ran back and cut him lose. he dropped to the ground. "Come on dork." I said. He laughed and I caught up with Sasuke. Tomorrow would bring us our first mission. I wonder what it will be like...


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke

Today was tough. If I hadn't passed the training I'm not sure what would come next. All that matters is my revenge. Yuki took more damage than any of us, Did Kakashi Sensei expect more from her. I noticed a slight bruise on her face. But why would he expect so much from her and not as much from me? Is there something I'm missing. I walked alone to my house. We all split up. Yuki said she wanted to visit her parents grave site before she went home. I went inside and laid on the couch. I wasn't quite ready to go to bed just yet. I laid there and stared at the ceiling thinking about everything.

Yuki

When we all split in different directions I told Sasuke that I wanted to go visit my parents' graves so I could talk to them. Then I caught up with Sensei.

"Sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead,"

"Earlier, during the training, you fought me as if you were fighting not a genin, but a peer on your own level. Why expect more from me than you did the other students?"

"That's a good observation, Yuki."

"That's not answering my question/" He gave a small sigh.

"I expect more from you because your parents and I were great friends. Haru and Mizuki were also two of the best ninja that I have ever when You put them on a team they were perfect. That's why I expected so much from you. Because Haru and Mizuki would've done the exact same." I looked at him for a second.

"The never talked about thier friends," he laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't expect them too. You know what everyone said about them. Their relationship was as perfect as that of the sun and the moon." I looked at him as he looked at the ske. The sun was still shining brightly. But night was approching,

"The sun and moon." My dad, Haru. His name meams sun. My mom's means beautiful moon. It was fitting that people would say such a thin as that.

"Well then, was that all you were wondering." He said, breaking my train of thought.

"Uh? oh! Yeah that was all."

"Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright sensei." I started heading toward my partent's graves, They weren't far. I wanted to tell them everything. I felt that if I talked to them I would feel closer to them. The struth is that sometimes it works. First I bought some new flowers for the graves. Ino greeted me at the counter.

"Hey, Yuki!"

"Oh hi Ino."

"How did training go for you today?"

"Oh so your sqaud did that to."

"Yeah."

"We passed. How about you?"

"We did too. You going to visit your parebts again?"

"Yeah." I said puting the money on the counter.

"Hey do me a favor. Keep Sakura away from Sasuke." She said. I laughed,

"I'm staying out of it. You two can have him all to yourselves and I'm not getting in the middle of that shit!" I said. In truth I thought their war over Sasuke was quite pathetic. "Bye!" I left for my parents graves. I replaced the old flowers with the ones I just bought and sat down. I said hi to them then did a total recap of my day. I could only hope they were enjoying it. When I was done telling them I kissed both headstones then went to my new home.

Sasuke

My eyes snapped open when I heard the front door open._ Damn, I must've dozed off. _I said getting up off the couch. I looked over to see Yuki walking in.

"Hey, you just now getting home? You've been gone for over three hours."

"What? Don't you ever talk to your parents?"

"Tsch, no. Why would I do that? They're dead so it's not like they can hear me."

"It's not about being heard. It's about feeling close to them. When ever I go to their graves and talk to them, I feel as if they're not dead. It's like they're sitting right infront of me listening and even responding sometimes. All in all, it helps me to feel closer to them."

"So in other words it's away for you to escape from reality."

"No, that's not -"

"It's pathetic, Yuki. You have to learn to let go. Holding omto the past like that is pathetic. They're dead and they're not coming back." Just then, Yuki walked up to me and slapped me on the face.

Yuki

I stared at Sasuke as he gave me a shocked look as I slapped him. My hand stung and my breathing quickened from holding back anger.

"Don't you EVER call me pathetic for my beleifs. You call me pathetic, take a look in the mirror. You hold onto the past just like me."

"Your's is just a dream from which you dom't want to wake up. I actually have an ambition, that's why I must hold onto the past like I do. I have to kill him. I have to kill my brother." I stared at him in disbelief. My whole body was shaking from holding back. I wanted to slap him across the face again, but if I were to let go now, I wouldn't be able to stop. He was about to say something else but I cut him off.

"Shut up! Just shut up! You so caught up in your own world that anyone else's views are pathetic and stupid. Why don't you get your head out of your ass and listen to others for a change⁉" It was then that I felt the tears running down my face. _Damn it! I can't let him see me like this! _I ran up stairs to my room. I fell once but manage to get to my room and lock the door behind me.

Sasuke

I chased Yuki up stairs. She shut and locked her door before I could get to her.

"Yuki, open the door, please. Let me explain. Yuki!" _Damn it! I messed up._ I leaned back against the door a slid to the floor. Inside, I could hear the faintest sounds of her crying.

"I'm sorry." I whispered and went to my room and went to sleep.

Yuki

I sat at my door crying. I felt to weak to get up and go to my bed. I felt every vibration of Sasule hitting the door. Beging me to let him in. I wanted to yell just shut up and go away but all I could manage was a sob. I felt it as he leand on the other side of the door. Even after he left I just sat there and cried. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Yuki

Since the fight last night, Sasuke and I haven't talked at all. Right now we were in the middle of a mission.

"What's the distance to the target?"

"Five meters. I'm ready anytime." Naruto said over the communicator.

"Me too."

"So am I."

"I'm ready as well."

"Okay!" Kakashi Sensei said. "Go‼" We all ran towards the target. A cat... Naruto was the first to reach it.

"Ribbon on the left ear... Are you sure this is the target, Tora?"

"Yeah, We're sure." Sasuke replied.

"Good, lost pet "Tora" search mission... Complete!" We took the cat back to the Hokage Mansion to give her back to the client. When she saw the cat she took it and hugged it. It looked almost as if she was crushing the poor thing. _I think I'd run away too._ I silently thought to myself.

"Ohh, my cute little Tora. I was so worried."

"Now... Kakashi's team #7, your next duty is..." The Hokage said. " Hmmm... Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging."

"No‼ No‼ No! No, thank you! I want to do, you know a more incredible mission! Find us a better one!" Naruto said. He was speaking his own mind, but unknowingly, he was speaking the rest of ours too.

"You idiot! You are just a rookie! Everyone starts off with the simple duties and works their way up!" Iruka Sensei responded. _Does he really have to yell?_

"But! But! We keep getting the crappiest possible duties!"

"Be quiet you!" Kakashi Sensei said, punching Naruto on the head.

"Naruto! It seems I have to explain to you, what these duties are all about." The Hokage said. "Listen, everyday the village receives numerous requests, from babysitting to assassination. Each request is written down on these lists and divided into an A,B, C, or D ranking based on difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill. Starting with me to the jounins, chuunins and ginins. The missions are then handed out by us at the top to ninjas based on their abilities, and if the duty is complete successfully we receive payment from the client. You guys just recently became Genin. D-ranked missions are perfect for you." We hadn't been paying any attention to the Hokage, we were too busy listening to Naruto. "Hey! Listen!" He said.

"I... I apologize." Kakashi Sensei said.

"Geez.. All you do is give lectures like that but you know what⁉ I'm not the trouble making brat you still think I am‼" Naruto said.

"Ok, if you want it that much..." Hokage said. "I'll give you a C- Rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."

"Who⁉ Who⁉ A feudal lord⁉ A Princess!?"

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him. Hey, will you come in here?" the Hokage said.

"What's this? They are all a bunch of super brats." an old man said, as he walked in with a sake bottle, "Especially the shortes one with the super stupid looking face. Are you really a ninja? Hey!?" The old man said.

"Haha! Who's the shortest one with the stupid face?" Naruto said looking back and forth. I already knew the old geezer was talking about Naruto. Once he noticed that it was him, Naruto got really angry. "I'll kill you‼"

"What's the point of killing the person we're suppose to protect? Idiot!" Sensei said.

"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide me with super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." The old man said. After that we left.

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled as we got outside the village gate.

"What are you so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"Cause, I've never left the village before." He replied.  
"Hey! Am I really going to be safe with this brat?" The old man inquired.

"Haha! Well, I am a jounin, don't worry." Kakashi replied.

"Hey, old man! Don't mess with ninjas! I'm incredible!" Naruto shouted in my ear. _If he shouts one more time... I'm gonna kill him._ I thought to myself. "One day I will take on the super elite ninja title, Hokage! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!" Just when I was about to hit Naruto the old man spoke up.

"Hokage is the village's #1 ninja, right? I doubt someone like you could become it."

"Shut up! I am prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage you will acknowledge me!"

"No, I won't, you brat. Even if you did become Hokage."

"I'll kill you!"

"Stop it, moron." Kakashi sensei and I said at the same time. Kakashi held Naruto back and I smacked him up side the head. We continued walking.

"Umm... Mr. Tazuna?" Sakura asked.

"What?"

"You're from the wave country, right?"

"What about it?"

"Umm... Kakashi Sensei? Do they have ninjas in that country too?"

"No, not in the wave country. But... In most other countries, the culture and customs may be different, but hidden villages exist, and so do ninjas. To the many countries of the continent, the existence of the shinobi village means military power. This is how they hold and maintain advantages over each other. But it's not that the villages rule the countries, they merely stand equally with the county's government. A small island country like the wave country doesn't receive much interference from the larger countries and may not need a shinobi village. Within the many shinobi villages, Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Sand and Stone are large and powerful. Which referred to as "The Great Five Shinobi Countries." And, these are the only countries whose leader receives the name "Kage". The "Five Kages" are Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage and Tsuchikage. They reign over the thousands of ninjas in the world." _There's no way that old geezer could be that great. All he does is sit around all day and file papers. _

"Wow! Hokage is the best!'

"You guys just doubted the Hokage didn't you?" We all shook our heads. "But don't worry. There won't be any ninja combat in a C- rank mission."

"Then we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas?" Sakura asked.

"Of course not!" Kakashi sensei answered confidently. Just then I almost stepped in a puddle of water._ Strange an puddle of water and not a cloud in the sky, Plus it hasn't rained in weeks. Something's up. _I thought to myself and put my guard up but didn't show too much so as not to alarm the client nor the people who were fallowing us. If they knew that I noticed there could be trouble. I pretended to accidently bump into Sensei and used a jutsu to transfer my thoughts to him as long as we touched for that one second. He ever so slightly nodded at me. He had noticed it too. We kept walking. I turned as soon as I heard the chains, just in time to see them wrap around Kakashi Sensei and rip him to pieces.

"Kakashi Sensei!" We all yelled. They were two ninjas using mechanical arms that had chains as weapons.

"One down." our opponents said. I took an offensive stance, drawing two kunai and launching them at the two. They dodged the kunai.

"Two down!" They said going after a petrified Naruto. Sasuke threw a shuriken, pinning the chain that connected their arms to a tree. He threw a kunai further pinning their chain and saving Naruto's ass. After jumping into the air and landing on the mechanical arms, he took a second to look cool then did this flip thing and kicked both of them in the face st the same time. The strain was too much for the chain and it snapped. _We need to take care of this threat now, but I have a feeling that I need to stay clear of their claws. _The ninjas easily regained their balance and went after Naruto and the bridge builder. _I have to do something now! _My main priority was the bridge builder but Sasuke was already going their so I went after the one that was going to kill Naruto. I flitted behind him and as soon as my Kunai was about to pierce his skull something took him out. I looked over to the bridge builder and saw Kakashi sensei standing there. _Show off..._ Sasuke and I wore the same irritated look.

"Naruto, sorry for not helping you right away. I got you injured. I didn't think you wouldn't be able to move. Anyway, nice work, Sasuke. Sakura and Yuki too. All three of you did well. Naruto just stared at Sasuke like he was the weirdest thing in the world. Sasuke walked over to him.

"Hey, You alright, scardy cat." He said, giving Naruto a cocky look. I smacked Sasuke on the arm loud enough that even Kakashi lookrd in our direction.

"Shut up, Sasuke! You can't make fun of Naruto for being scared! You hypocrite! We all were scared out of our minds. You're crazy not to be."

"I wasn't afraid at all, and you may have been scared but you weren't completely useless like Naruto. As ninja, fear is something we do not show nor can we afford it. If you are going to be scared like that then you may as well not even call yourself a ninja."

"Why you -" I was about to punch him when Kakashi interrupted me.

"Save it for later. Naruto, their claws are soaked in poison. We have to remove it quickly. We must open up the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body. Don't move much, or the poison will spread through your body. Tazuna."

"W- What is it?"

"I need to talk to you. These guys are chuunin class ninja from the village hidden in the mist. They are ninjas known to keep fighting no matter what." Kakashi stated as he tied them to a tree.

"How did you read our movements?" One of the beaten chuunins inquired.

"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, a water puddle shouldn't exist."

"Why did you let the brats fight when you knew that?" Tazuna questioned, I couldn't really tell, but he almost sounded appalled. Almost.

"If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but there was something I needed to find out. Who the target for these two were after."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna furthered inquired, though his stament was obvious.

"Meaning, were they after you or one of us. We haven't heard that there were shinobi after you. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves and gangs. This has become at least a B - rank mission. This was suppose to be simple protection until you completed the bridge. If it was known that ninjas were after you, this mission would have been an expensive B-rank. I'm sure you have a reason but it causes problems when you lie about mission details. We are now operating outside of our duties."

"We aren't ready for this mission. Let's quit! We will need medicine for Naruto's wound, We should go back to the village and take him to a doctor." Sakura said. _As mu as I'd hate to admit it, she's right._ I thought to myself.

"Hmmmm... This might be too much. I guess we should return to the village to treat Naruto." Kakashi said. Just then Naruto took us all by surprise as he stabbed his poisoned wound with a kunai.

"Naruto. What are you doing?!" Sakura Said, As shocked as everyone else.

"With this kunai, I'll protect the old man. We're continuing this mission!" He said, a determined look in his eye. I couldn't help but smile.

"Naruto, it's good that you're releasing the poison but anymore and you'll die from lack of blood." Sensei said, Causing Naruto to totally freak out.

"No! That's bad! I can't die from something like this!"

"Let me see you're hand."

"Naruto, are you a masochist? What are you thinking?" Sakura chimed in. _Does she have to have an opinion on everything?_ I asked myself.

"Ok? Umm, am I going to be-"

"You'll be fine, Naruto."

"Kakashi, I have to talk to you." Tazuna spoke up. Sensei finished wrapping up Naruto's hand and we continued to walk on. Tazuna and Kakashi in the front, Sakura and Naruto in the back and Sasuke and I in the middle. I didn't bother talking to him. I didn't want to. He was being such a jerk. Then again it is Sasuke Uchiha, so what am I suppose to expect. A perfect angel. Sasuke spoke, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yuki, about last night -"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said coldly.

"I'm sorry." He said ever so faintly. Just then I could feel someone glaring daggers at the back of my skull. It was Sakura. _Great, I'm on the fangirl's radar. Just what I need._ I thought as I kept walking. I wasn't watching where I was going and tripped in a hole in the road. Sasuke grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him before I could hit the ground. We stood there facing each other. My breath was caught in my throat as I looked into his onyx eyes. I could feel his heart beat against my hand. I could only hope he couldn't feel, or hear, mine. It seemed like we had been standing there for an eternity when Sensei spoke up.

"Ummm, guys? Are you two going to get on the boat so we can leave?"

"Um, yeah. Right." said, snapping out of my daze. Sasuke followed me as if nothing had happened between us just now. My heart was still pounding. We set off. It wasn't long before we entered an extremely dense mist.

'What a thin mist," Sakura aid, stating the obvious, "I can't see ahead."

"We should see the bridge soon," the boatman replied, "The wave country is at the base of the bridge."

"Wow, it's huge!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up idiot!" I said smacking him upside the head.

"Hey! Be quiet!" the boatman said to Naruto, further proving my point, "Why do you think we are hiding in this mist and not using the engine? We'll be in deep trouble if Gatou finds us." My mind went back to the earlier conversation between Tazuna and Kakashi sensei about the merchant and his evil scheme. I seriously wanted to destroy this guy.

"We'll be there soon. Tazuna, it looks like we've avoided detection so far, but just in case, we'll take the route that has vegetation. It will make the enemies harder to spot us." The boatman said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Thanks." The old man replied. He led us through a tunnel to a small dock. We all got off.

"This is it for me. Goodbye and good luck."

"Yeah, thank you." Tazuna replied. It was the first time I saw something on his face that wasn't a sour look. He turned to us. "Ok! Get me home safely."

"Yes, yes." Sensei replied. Suddenly Naruto ran out in front of us and randomly threw a kunai yelling "There!"

"Heh, just a rat."

"Stop trying to act so cool!" Sakura yelled.

"Please stop throwing shuriken, it's seriously dangerous." Kakashi reprieved.

"Hey! Midget! Stop acting like a moron!" Tazuna yelled, more irritated than any of us. It didn't help because he was at it again in a matter of seconds. _Idiot._ I thought to myself.

"I said stop!" Kakashi said, smacking Naruto upside the head after he threw another shuriken.

"OW! Somebody is after us, I swear."

"Yeah right!" Sakura said, turning on him once again. What he had thrown the shuriken at was just a rabbit but something seemed off about it.

"Everyone, get down!" Kakashi said. Sasuke ended up straight on top of me, his body covering mine._ Is he.. protecting me?_ I asked myself as I kept my head covered and my eyes closed. I Felt a huge wind pass over us. We all got up.

"Well, well, if it isn't the hidden mist's missing-nin Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi said. I could tell just by looking at him that he was really bad news. I watched as Naruto rushed forward to fight him but Sensei stopped him.

"Everybody, get back. This one is on a whole other level. It will be difficult unless I do this." He said uncovering his left eye. I looked on, wanting to see what he was hiding. _This is going to be interesting._


	9. Chapter 9

Yuki

"You appear to be using Sharingan, Kakashi. Sorry but the old man is mine." Zabuza said. _Sharingan? It sounds familiar but where have I heard it before?_ I thought to myself.

"Surround and protect Tazuna. Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork hear." We did as we were ordered. Each of us standing side by side in a circle around the bridge builder. "Zabuza first, fight me." Sensei said, completely removing his headband from his eye. _So Sharingan is an eye jutsu. But what does it do?_

"Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm honored." Zabuza mocked.

"Sharingan! Sharingan! What the hell is that?!" Naruto asked excitedly. It was Sasuke who spoke up.

"Sharingan, it is said that some have the ability in their eyes to read and defeat all types of Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Nin jutsu. The Sharingan is one of the types of pupil that gives you this power. But that's not the only ability the Sharingan has."

"Hehe, That's not all." Zabuza interrupted, "What's even scarier is that you can copy your opponent's techniques once you see them. When I was a member of the Hidden Mist's Assassin Team, I kept a handbook. It included information on you. And what is said is the man who has copied over 1000 jutsu, "Copy Ninja Kakashi". Now let's end all this talking I have to kill that old man." We all tensed, ready to fight. I could already feel all this tension coming just from the two jounin. It was insane! "But, Kakashi, it seems I have to beat you fist." Zabuza went over to the lake and stood on the water. He started releasing such a high amount of chakra that the water was reacting to it! "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." I heard him say just as fog surrounded us.

"He's gone!" Sakura said, again stating the obvious. But it didn't change the fact that I was still scared out of my mind.

"He'll come after me first. Zabuza Momochi, as a member of the Hidden Mist, he was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even know until you're already dead. It's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful." Sensei stated bluntly. It didn't help my nerves at all.

"The mist is getting thicker!" Naruto noted loudly. Suddenly, Zabuza spoke from somewhere within the mist.

"Eight choices. Liver, lungs, spine, cervical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?" _The tension is getting thicker as the mist thickens. I feel like if I make one move I'll die. What do we do? Do we run or fight? I don't want to die. I don't want to be killed. He's on a totally different level. I would rather just take my own life. Come on. Move! Move!_ Kakashi's voice interrupted my thoughts once again.

"Sasuke, Yuki! Don't worry. I'll protect you guys, even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die." HE said with a smile. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one freaking out. What Kakashi said did make me feel a lot better.

"We'll see about that." It was Zabuza. He appeared behind us before any of us could notice him.

"It's over." He said. Kakashi pushed us all out of the way and stabbed Zabuza in the abdomen, but instead if blood, it was water that leaked out. A clone.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yelled out. Another Zabuza had appeared behind Sensei. It sliced him in half. I thought he was done for then I realized it was just a clone. Kakashi appeared behind him and held a kunai to his throat.

"Don't move! It's over!" Sensei said as we all stared at him. Then Zabuza just chuckled, as if Sensei had just told him a joke.

"It's over? You don't get it. There is no way you can defeat me with your monkey-like imitations. But that was impressive of you! At that time you had already copied my Water Clone Jutsu. You had your clone say those words to attract my attention while the real you stayed hidden in the mist and watched. Nice plan. But... I'm also not that easy." Another Zabuza appeared behind Sensei. Kakashi destroyed the one in front of him the faced the one behind him.

"That one's a fake too!" Naruto said, evidently surprised. Sensei ducked a blow from Zabuza's sword but as he was getting up, Zabuza kicked him, sending him flying several feet as Zabuza went the opposite direction.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi landed in the water. He came back up but Zabuza was already on the water when he did.

"Fool. Now I have you in an inescapable prison! It's tougher if you can't move, you know? Kakashi, we can finish things later. First, I'll take care of them." Zabuza said as he created another water clone. This time it was the clone who was speaking.

":Wearing headbands and acting like ninjas. A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when you're good enough to be listed in my handbook, can you start calling yourselves ninjas. You are not ninjas." He said as he disappeared again. The next thing I know Naruto is sent flying backwards, his headband lying on the ground where he was standing.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled out.

"Just brats." The real Zabuza said.

"Take Tazuna and run! You have no chance of beating him! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison he can't move! The water clone cannot go very far from his real body. Just run away now!" Kakashi yelled at us from his water prison. _This guy is a real Jounin. Sensei's right. at this rate. We'll all die. _I watched as Naruto got up. He went from looking completely petrified to looking determined. He then charged Zabuza.

"No! Don't!" I heard Sensei yell from inside his prison.

"Naruto! What are you thinking?!" Sakura freaked. As he neared Zabuza kicked him, sending Naruto flying toward us.

"What are you doing, attacking him all by yourself?! We Genin have no chance against him!" Sakura reprimanded. Then we all noticed something. Naruto hadn't ran to attack Zabuza. He had ran to get his headband back. _I guess after working for it as hard as he has, it means a lot to him._ I thought to myself. Once again, I found myself smiling at the idiot. Naruto got up. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the ground.

"Hey, you eyebrow less freak, put this in you handbook. The man who will one day become Hokage. Leaf Village ninja! Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said, tying his headband back on. suddenly I had the feeling that we could beat this guy if we worked as a team.

"Sasuke, listen!"

"What is it?"

"I have a plan."

"Pft, teamwork coming from you?" Sasuke had a point. But at this point, we had to take what we could get. Naruto had given us a new sense of hope. A new confidence.

"Now let's get wild."


	10. Chapter 10

Yuki

"A lot of arrogance but do you stand a chance?" Zabuza said as he stood in front of us.

"What are you doing?! Run away! This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna! Did you forget that?!" Sensei yelled at us. Naruto looked back at our elderly client.

"Old man..." He said.

"Well, I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to now say that I desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry guys. Fight as much as you want." Tazuna said, giving us the "ok" to fight to save our sensei.

"Pft, you hear that?" Sasuke said. Acting way too cool. I had to admire him for pulling himself together as well as he did. I'm still shaking.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked. Just then Zabuza started laughing, as if he were watching some comedy.

"you guys will never grow up! Going to keep "playing" ninja, eh? When I was about your age, these hands were already dyed red with blood." Just then he got this crazed look in his eyes. It made my blood run cold. I was even more terrified.

"Devil Zabuza." Kakashi muttered.

"Ah, so you've heard a little about it."

"Long ago, in the Hidden Mist Village, also called the Blood Mist Village, there was a final obstacle in becoming a ninja."

"Hm, so you know about that graduation exam."

"That exam? What's this graduation exam thing?" Naruto asked. I didn't like how Zabuza was laughing. He looked up at Naruto with the most menacing eyes I've ever seen.

"Fights to the death between the students. Friends who had trained and eaten at the same table are pitted against each other and go at it until one of them loses his life. Friends who had helped each other and shared dreams." I heard Sakura mutter something along the lines of terrible as Zabuza was explaining this to us.

"10 years ago, the Hidden Mist Graduation Exam was forced to change. This came after the previous year when a devil appeared." Sensei explained to us.

"Change? What change? What did this devil do?" Sakura inquired, wanting to know more. Kakashi Sensei continued.

"Without pause or hesitation, a young boy, who was not even a ninja had killed over a hundred of the students."

"That sure was fun." Zabuza said, a look of pure joy in his eyes as he recalled his murder. _A devil. How are we suppose to beat a devil?! We're going to die! Should I take my chance and run now? _I asked myself. My trembling hand clenching my kunai. Then I forced myself to stop shaking and pulled myself together. _No, a true shinobi would not run. If I did, I would nit be able to live with myself. It would be a fate worse than death. It would be cowardice. Right? _The fear was put back in me as I watched Zabuza punch Sasuke, throwing him on the ground and pin him with his foot on Sasuke's abdomen.

"Sasuke!" Sakura and I screamed at the same time. I could see the blood trickle from his mouth. I wanted to help but I didn't know how. I was frozen in place by fear, desperation and indecision. Just then, Naruto did a Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. It took Zabuza's attention off of Sasuke. I wanted to run to his side and help him but I can't leave Tazuna. I had to stay by his side and protect him. That's my job.

"Ah Shadow Clones. And a large amount."

"Here I come!" They all yelled at once. They all pounced on Zabuza at the same time and for a second it looked like Naruto had him. Then Zabuza threw them all off like they were feathers.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he threw a weapon to him. Sasuke caught it and did this cool thing where he spun around and unfolded the giant shuriken. (Yes I know I sounded a little like a fangirl right there but trust me, I'm not.)

"Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke said as he held it out in front of him.

"A shuriken won't work on me!" Zabuza said. Sasuke threw it at him anyway but he didn't aim for the clone, he aimed for the real Zabuza.

"I see, you're aiming it at the real me. But, that's not enough!" he said, catching it, But as soon as he looked up he caught his mistake. "Another one in the shuriken's shadow?" He said as it flew towards him. "But," he then jumped over the flying weapon. "Still not enough."_ He dodged it! How are he suppose to beat him like this! _I thought to myself. then I was caught off guard when Sasuke smiled._ I should have know he was counting on that._ Just then the second shuriken turned into Naruto. He smiled then yelled as he threw a kunai , aiming straight for Zabuza. Seeing as he had only one choice, Zabuza broke away from the water prison that was holding Sensei captive at the last second, causing it to disperse. However, Naruto had grazed the side of his face.

"Damn brat!" Zabuza said as he readied to throw the giant shuriken that was in his he=and at Naruto. Just then Kakashi Sensei stopped the blade with his hand, the edge cutting past the metal of his glove and biting deep into the skin.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sakura yelled, relieved as the rest of us to see our sensei freed from his watery prison.

"Naruto, great plan. you guys have really grown up." Sensei said. Naruto did this weird giggle thing. Then started talking.

"The aim of the shadow clone wasn't to defeat Zabuza but to hide the fact that I had transformed into the demon wind shuriken. Of course, I didn't think that I could beat him, but I thought if only we could break open that prison." He said with a huge, goofy grin on his face.

"I got distracted and released the jutsu." Zabuza said, unwilling to admit he had been out smarted by a kid.

"Wrong! You didn't release it. You were "forced" to release it. I'll tell you that I don't fall for the same jutsu twice. What will you do?" They broke apart and jumped away from each other then started doing the same jutsu. I silently read out the hand signs to myself. _Ushi, Sara, Oo, Nae, Ee, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Nae, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mee, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mee, Ee, Hitsuji, Nae, Jin, Sara, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mee, Nae, Sara, Oo, Ee, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Nae, Ushi, Sara, Tori, Jin, Nae, Ee, Tori (Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Dragon, Monkey, Bird, Tatsu, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Rabbit, Boar, Tatsu, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Rat, Boar, Bird). _

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" The both said at the same time. At that moment two dragons rose up out of the water, circling around each other. Those of us on land braced ourselves and shielded our faces from the onslaught of water. _They did that many hand signs in just a few short seconds? And Sensei copied them all perfectly! We wouldn't have stood a chance! _I thought to my self as I watched the two dragons attack each other, creating a massive tidal wave. Just as their dragons had attacked so had the jounin. Coming at a draw, they jumped back, to prepare for another jutsu.

"Reading them." Kakashi said out of the blue. It kind of startled me. "Freaky eye is pissing me off! Right?" _Is he... No that's impossible. No one can read minds, Right?_ I thought to myself as I watched Zabuza get extremely frustrated with Sensei.

"Heh... All you're doing is copying me." Zabuza said, his voice laced with anger.

"You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" They said in union.

"Damn you! I'll make it so you can never open that mouth again!" Now it was clear that Zabuza not only wanted to kill Sensei, he wanted to annihilate him. I watched as Kakashi made the hand signs for another jutsu. _Tora, Ushi, Sara, Oo, Nae, Ee, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Inu, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mee, Tora, Ushi, Sara, Oo (Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Dog, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Rabbit)._

"What?! Impossible!" Zabuza exclaimed. We all watched as a giant tornado like thing of water sent him flying. Once again we were forced to shield our face from the onslaught of water. He landed at the base of a tree. Kunai pierced his arms and legs.

"It's over..." Sensei said from high up in the tree.

"How? Can you see the future?" A defeated Zabuza inquired.

"Yeah... You're going to die." Just then, two needles came flying threw the air, They stuck right threw Zabuza's neck with a sickening sound.

"You're right, He's dead." Said a voice. I looked to the tree where I determined it was coming from and saw a masked boy. He stood there, peering down at us. I looked from the boy to where Zabuza layed, motionless on the ground. Kakashi sensei appeared by the fallen rouge ninja's side.

"Thank you very much. I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time." The boy said.

"That mask, you're a Hidden Mist Hunter Ninja."

"Impressive. You are correct."

"Hunter-nin?" A very disgruntled Naruto asked.

"Yes, my duty is to hunt down missing-nin. I am a member of the Hidden Mist's Hunter-Nin Team." Naruto looked from the kid, to Zabuza's corps then back to the kid. He seemed like he couldn't figure out if this guy was really telling truth or not. Like he was looking for a reason to attack the kid.

"What the hell?! Who are you?!" Naruto yelled.

"Don't worry Naruto. He's not an enemy." Sensei confirmed.

"I', not asking that! That Zabuza... That Zabuza was killed! A guy that strong... A guy that strong was killed by a kid! By a kid not much different from me! We look stupid! How can I understand that?!" It was easy to tell that Naruto was clearly outraged.

"Well, I know how you feel. But, this is also the truth." Sensei said putting a hand on Naruto's head. "In this world, there exists kids younger than you yet stronger than me." The boy in the mask went to the corps' side.

"Your battle is over, and now I must dispose of this body. Since it seems to be a body with many secrets. Farewell." And with that the boy disappeared with the body.

"He's gone!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Now we have to get Tazuna home. Let's go!" Sensei said.

"Super thanks guys! Come over to my house and relax for a while!" The bridge builder said. The only thing was that I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I hoped I could have my own room at least. I hate sleeping around other people. Just then Sensei collapsed to the ground.

"Huh?! What's wrong?!" Sakura said.

"Kakashi Sensei?!" Naruto exclaimed. We had to carry our Sensei to Tazuna's house. When we got there, we were greeted by a woman with long black hair. She showed us were we could lay Sensei down.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just can't move for a week or so." Kakashi replied.

"What? The Sharingan is incredible but if it puts that much stress on your body, I guess you have to think before using it." Sakura inferred.

"Well, we defeated that strong of a ninja this time. we should be safe for a while!" Tazuna interjected.

"By the way, who was that masked kid?" Sakura inquired.

"That's the mask worn by the Hidden Mist Special Hunter-Nin team. They are also known as body erasers. Their duty is to completely dispose of the body without a trace. A ninja's body has secrets of the village's ninjutsu, information on different types of chakra, herbs and other things that will reveal things about the village. For example, if I died, the Sharingan could be revealed. If you don't be careful, there's the danger that the enemy will steal you jutsu. A ninja's body can reveal important information. So, by killing and disposing of the missing-nins who have abandoned their village, the Hunter-Nins protect the information from getting out. They are the specialists who guard their village's secrets. No sound. No smell. That is a ninja's end." Kakashi explained.

"So that Zabuza has been chopped up and disposed of? Scary!" Sakura said. After a while Sensei fell asleep.

"Hey, we should try to see what's under his mask." Naruto said. "I mean haven't you ever wondered why he wares it?"

"No." I said. "I don't concern myself with what is not my business."

"Well," Sakura said, "I am a bit curious."

"You guys go right ahead, but I'm staying right hear because I don't want to get in trouble." In truth, I wanted to see his face as much as they did, I just didn't want to get in trouble for waking him if it all went wrong. When Naruto's hand was just over his mask, Sensei's eyes snapped open. I, who had actually been standing just to his left, fell backwards as I gave a surprised yelp. Sensei sat up. He looked on edge and a little worried about something.

"What's wrong Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Well. Body erasing teams usually dispose of the body of the person they killed right there."

"So what?" Sakura said.

"Don't you see? How did the masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body?"

"How could we know? the masked guy took the body with him." Sakura stated simply.

"Yeah... If he needed proof of his work, he could have just taken the head. And the weapon that he used to kill Zabuza." Kakashi said. I thought for a minute._ Needles. Wait a minute!_

"No way." Sasuke said. I could swear he was sweating, but who wouldn't, Zabuza was a scary guy and I for one was extremely worried.

"Yeah, exactly." Sensei said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna barged in.

"Most likely... Zabuza is alive!"

"What the hell do you mean?! Kakashi Sensei, you checked and said he was dead!" Naruto and Sakura both yelled.

"Yeah I did. But that was most likely just a momentary death. The needle that the Hunter-Nin used... Unless it hits a vital organ, it has a low possibility of killing your opponent. It's even an item used by doctors in acupuncture therapy. Hunter-Nins know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person in a momentary state of death is probably easy for them. First, he carried away the body of the much heavier Zabuza. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was... Not to kill Zabuza but to save him. We can't ignore that possibility." Sensei said sullenly.

"Aren't you thinking too much? Hunter-Nins are suppose to kill missing-Nins." Tazuna said.

"No, with all suspicion, we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule. Plus, whether Zabuza is dead or alive, there's no assurances that Gatou hasn't highered an even stronger shinobi." At these words from Sensei, Naruto smiled.

"Sensei, what do you mean prepare before it's too late? You can barely move," Sakura observed. Kakashi Sensei just chuckled at her.

"You guys will receive training."

"Huh? Training? Sensei! What's a little training going to do?! Our enemy is a ninja you struggled against even with the Sharingan!" Sakura pointed out.

"Sakura, who saved me while I was struggling? You guys are growing rapidly. Especially Naruto! You've improved the most." Naruto gave Sensei a surprised look. "But obviously, this is just training until I get better, you won't be able to defeat him without me." He stated bluntly. _Jeez thanks for the moral._

"But Sensei, if Zabuza is alive he could attack at anytime, so shouldn't we be training?" Sakura inquired, annoyed.

"About that. A person put in a momentary death situation... It should take a while before their body returns to normal."

"So we train until then. Sounds like a lot of fun!" Naruto said.

"That's not fun." Said a new voice. I looked to the door way to find a little boy standing there.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto half-yelled. Rude as usual.

"OH! Inari! Where were you?!" Tazuna said.

"Welcome back Grandpa."

"Inari, say hello to these people. They are ninjas who protected Grandpa." His mother said. The boy just glared at us as he hugged his grandfather.

"Mom, they are going to die." He said bluntly.

"What did you say you stupid little brat?!" Naruto exclaimed, outraged.

"There's no way you can win against Gatou."

"You brat! I'll"

"Why are you getting angry at a child? Idiot!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey, Inari! Listen! I am a super hero who will one day become an incredible ninja called Hokage! I don't know this Gatou guy, but he's nothing against me!"

"What are you stupid? There's no such thing as a hero!" Inari said.

"What?!" Naruto yelled.

"Stop it!" Sakura reprimanded as she held hi back.

"If you don't want to die, you should leave."

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked.

"To look at the ocean from my room." He said then walked out.

"Sorry." the bridge builder apologized. Naruto left the room. I started to go after him but Sensei stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine, Yuki. Just let them be." I nodded. When Naruto got back, Sensei got a pair of crutches and we proceeded to go outside. We went a little ways in to the woods.

"Ok, we will now start the training." He said once we came to a stop.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto said.

")Ok. Before that I want to talk to you about the shinobi ability chakra."

"Ummm... What's chakra?" Naruto asked.

"You're a ninja and you don't know that?! What did you learn in school?!" Sakura said, voicing how dumbfounded she was.

"Hehe... I use to sleep during all the hard classes." He replied, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Fine! Sakura." Sensei said. Leaving her to explain. She went into full on teacher mode.

"Listen Naruto! I'm going to explain it simply. Some how try to remember it with that slow brain of yours. Simply put, chakra is the energy a shinobi needs when performing a jutsu. That energy has two parts. The body energy that is in each of the billions of cells and the spiritual energy gained through training and other experiences. These two parts are combined. So by bringing out and releasing chakra you can use a jutsu. This is done through the process of performing a seal with the hands."

"Exactly." Sensei said.

"Hey?! Hey?! I didn't understand that complicated explanation but isn't that something you learn with your body?" Naruto said.

"Naruto is right. We can already use jutsu." Sasuke said. _Wait! Did he just agree with Naruto?!_ I asked myself. That was the last thing I expcted from him, especially since he always viewed Naruto as just a screw up.

"Nope! You guys are not using chakra properly." Sensei said bluntly.

"What?!" Naruto said, clearly taking offense to the statement.

"Well listen. As Sakura said earlier, to release chakra means to bring our physical and spiritual energy and mix them together within your body. And based on what jutsu you use, the type and amount of chakra that is released will be different. You guys are not using chakra effectively yet. Even if you are able to release a high amount of chakra, unless you control it properly, the jutsu will be weakened or won't work at all. And by wasting energy, you guys won't be able to fight as long. These kind of weaknesses will appear."

"So what should we do?" Naruto asked.

"Learn how to control it through very tough training." Kakashi Sensei said.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm? Tree climbing,"

"Tree climbing?" We all asked, giving him confused looks.

"Yeah."

"What kind of training is that?" Sakura asked,

"Well listen until the end." Sensei said. I suppressed an amused giggle. smart or not I didn't like Sakura all that much. Mostly because she was one of those girls always fawning over Sasuke. Honestly, what does she see in him. All I see is and arrogant cocky bastard-jerk. (Yes I said bastard-jerk. Leave my made up words alone) Sensei continued. "This isn't normal tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands,"

"How?" Sakura inquired. I noticed that her and Naruto did that a lot.

"Well watch." Sensei said as he made a hand sign and released his chakra. He then started walking up the tree! Walking as if he were walking on the ground! We all stared at him in amazement.

"He's climbing..."

"Vertically... With just his legs..." Naruto and Sakura both voiced there astonishment.

"You understand now?" Sensei said, looking down on us. "Gather your chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree. This is something you can do once you can use chakra well."

"Wait a minute! How is learning to climb a tree going to make us stronger?" Sakura yelled her question.

"Here's the main part. Listen closely. The purpose of this training is... First, to teach you to control chakra. To bring out the proper amount to the proper area. As I said earlier, this is the most important aspect when using jutsu. This can be difficult for even a skilled ninja. The amount of chakra needed to climb a tree is small, but it must be exact. And it is said that the bottom of the most difficult area to gather chakra. So basically... if you can learn this control, you should be able to master any jutsu. Theoretically..." This caught our attention very well. "The second thing is for you to develop the stamina needed to control chakra properly. Depending on the jutsu controlling your chakra properly... Can be very difficult. And a ninja will usually be gathering his chakra during battle while constantly moving . These types of situations make controlling chakra even more difficult. That's why, from this tree climbing. you must gain the stamina needed for this proper control. Well... me talking all day isn't going to accomplish anything. This is something you'll have to learn with your bodies." And with that he threw kunais, one landing at each of our feet. "Use these kunais to mark how high you make it up the tree. Then use that mark as your goal and try to surpass it. You guys won't be good enough to just walk up the tree at first. So get some momentum and try running up the tree. Got it?"

"This training is nothing to me! I could do it before breakfast!" Naruto said. "Cause I'm the most improved!"

"Why don't you stop bragging, pick a tree and hurry up and try to climb it." I concentrated and pushed all my chakra to my feet. As soon as I thought I was ready I looked at the tree directly in front of me. I heard Naruto yell something like "Here I go!" And we all started toward the trees in front of us. I got two steps up before I was sent flying backwards because of the force of the chakra in my feet. There was no need to mark it with the kunai because of the huge foot print that was crushed into the trunk. I landed on my back and slid to a stop. Looking up I saw that Naruto and Sasuke were having just as much trouble. So I felt better. Naruto had just fallen on he head. Sasuke on the other hand had the same problem as me and of course he had landed perfectly. I watched as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face and couldn't help but notice how toned his muscles actually - No! No way was I checking him out! No way in hell! I stated to get up and instantly felt the strain on my body. I didn't realize how much stamina I had already used.

"This is pretty easy!" I looked up to see Sakura sitting on a branch.

"Sakura! Wow!" Naruto yelled. She stuck her tongue out at all of us.

"It looks like the best at controlling chakra right no is Sakura."

"Wow! You're great Sakura!" Naruto yelled again. I immediately started gathering my chakra again. I wasn't about to be beat by a fangirl.

"Wow, not only does she know a lot about chakra, but her control and stamina are quite good, as of now, she's the closest to Hokage, unlike a certain someone. I guess the Uchiha clan isn't worth much either."

"Shut up Sensei!" Sakura yelled.

"And Yuki, you seem even weaker." The three of us all shared eye contact. We made a silent pact to be the first to be able to climb all the way to the top. _I'm not going to lose to either one of you._ I thought to myself. We continued for hours. I eventually caught up with Sasuke and Naruto was right there with us. Sakura was still ahead. After a few hours we were all worn out.

"Damn!" I heard Naruto say and looked over to see him talking to Sakura. He had go to her for help but I couldn't do that. I can't look to others. If I look to others for help then I'll look weak. _I ... Have... To... Beat... Him! _I thought to myself as I ran toward my tree. I rand until I felt my foot slip and stabbed the Kunai into the trunk. I felt myself falling backwards and smiled because I knew I passed my goal. Then everything went black as I continued to fall.

Sasuke

I looked over to see Yuki lying on the ground.

"Looks like she over exerted herself." Sensei said. I continued to train. There was nothing I could do. Sensei called off training for the day and asked me to carry Yuki back to the house. I picked he up and carried her on my back like a child. A lock of her hair blew into my face and I couldn't help but inhale the sent of roses. It was almost intoxicating. When we got to the house I took Yuki to her room and laid her on her bed and covered her up.. As I started to stand to straight she kicked in her sleep and I lost my balance as het foot connected with the back of my knee. I caught myself and stopped myself before my body could even brush hers. I inhaled that sent of roses again. She took in a breath and I held mine, afraid that I had woken her up. Then she exhaled and murmured something that I couldn't make out and I let go of that breath. I sighed in relief and got up without waking her then silently shut the door behind me. That was something I won't easily forget.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuki

I'm glad I have my own room . The nightmares were starting again. They always started when it was close to the anniversary. I hated them. I hated going to sleep to escape the pain only to receive more. It always started out the same. I was a small child again. no older than 5. I was out with my mom and dad for a picnic. I was proud because both of them were ninjas and I wanted to be just like them. That was why I was going to the academy. I was happy. We were happy. Mom and dad were sitting on the blanket in the middle of the clearing. We were a few hours walk away from the village. I was chasing a butterfly when it flew towards the tree line I went to go chase it when I bumped into something and fell backwards on the ground.

"Ow!" I said, rubbing my head. I looked up to see a man with white hair and purple eyes standing in front of me. He wore a black cloak with red clouds. Next to him was a man with brown skin and green eyes but his face from the nose down was covered by mask. There was something evil about them that scared me. I ran to my dad and hid behind him.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" The one with the mask said. "A Leaf Village family out on a mission." Dad got up, standing defensively in front of me and Mom.

"No, it's mine and my wife's day off. So we decided to go on a family picnic with our daughter, but I don't see what business that is of yours."

"Hey watch your mouth you dumb fuck." The white haired guy said. I ran, jumped and punched the guy in the face.

"Don't you talk to my daddy like that you big meanie!" I said. I was my daddy's little princess. No one messed with him if I had any say in it.

"Why you little bitch!" He said as he smacked me hard enough to send me flying over to my mother.

"Yuki!" She screamed. I got up and glared at the man that just hit me, but on the inside I was scared.

"Wait." The masked man said. "If I am correct you are Haru and Mizuki Aburi. There's a bounty on your heads. One that we shall collect."

"Heh, finally! I get to fucking kill something!" He said coming at me and my mother. My dad blocked his attack.

"You leave my wife and child alone. Your fight is with me."

"Just as fucking well." He said. He turned and swung at my dad with his scythe. It cut into my dad's right arm. Then the man Drew something on the ground. And licked the blood off the blade. His skin turned black and he resembled a skeleton. "You're mine now!"

"Mizuki! Get Yuki out of here and run!" My father yelled he was trapped somehow. My mother stood and ran to where I was sitting.

"Not so fast." The man with the mask said from behind her. Just then a blade protruded from her chest. She called out my name.

"NO!" My father yelled trying to move as she fell to the ground. I watched as gashes appeared on his body without any weapon touching him. I was frozen in place. I watched as both of my parents died, right in front of me.

"Kakuzo, what should we do with the child." The white haired one said as the stood over me, covered in blood.

"Leave her be she is of no use, Hidan." He said, putting my mom's body over his shoulder like a sack of dirt.

"Fine. You heard him. Get the fuck out of here before I change my -" He was cut off as I screamed and ran at him with a kunai I had picked up from the ground and stabbed him in the abdomen. He looked down at me as if I had simply bumped into to him, them punched me in the face. "You little bitch! That hurt!" He said, kicking me in the stomach. I cried out in pain as I felt blood pool in my mouth. "I'll kill you just like I killed you father." I screamed as I felt his blade cut slowly across my skin over and over again.

I woke up, screaming. That was just the beginning. They'll get worse, a lot worse. I'll eventually be asleep for hours, screaming through the whole dream, before I finally wake up, my throat raw. I rolled over and hugged my legs to my chest and cried myself into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

Sasuke

I shot up out of bed because I thought I heard someone screaming. It sounded like Yuki. I ran to her room to find Sakura standing by the door.

"What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. It was just a dream, though I don't think she wants us knowing about it. I don't think she noticed me opening her door so I just closed it back. Do you think we should check on her?" I just shook my head.

"Leave her be. If she doesn't want to talk about it, then that's her problem. Besides, it's none of out business what she dreams about."

"O-Okay." Sakura nodded and went back into her room. I stayed a moment longer then went back to mine and went back to sleep. Just before I left I thought I heard the faintest sounds of Yuki crying.

Yuki

I woke up, got dressed, brushed my hair and put on my head band before finally going into the dinning room to get something to eat. Just as I had done for the past few days that we had been staying with the bridge builder. Inari's mom was down stairs she had made us breakfast and sat it on the table. Sensei was already sitting down eating.

"Good morning, Yuki."

"Hey, Sensei."

"You okay? You seem tired."

"I'm fine." Just then Sasuke walked in and as usual he had to but in to the conversation.

"You don't seem fine."

"Nobody asked you." I said getting up.

"Where are you going?" Sakura who had just walked in asked. She had already finished her training and would be guarding the bridge builder as he worked on the bridge starting today.

"Training." I said walking out. I had already finished what little I could eat. I went to the trees in the forest and found the one I had been climbing the day before. My kunai was still stuck in the same place where I had left it. I concentrated chakra to my feet and ran at and up the tree. I grabbed my kunai as I passed it and kept running. I only made two steps further before I was pushed off the tree once again because i had lost control of my chakra. I scrapped the kunai against the bark where my foot was before tumbling down to the ground. I had to catch up to Sasuke and Naruto before the got here. It didn't help that I had passed out two days in a row from using too much chakra.

"Hey! Yuki!" a familiar voice called. I turned to see Naruto and Sasuke approaching. It was Naruto who had spoken. "Wow! You're actually out here before I was!"

"That's because I was up sooner." I replied. I really hated it when people pointed out the obvious,

"Yeah, whatever. just don't pass out again." Sasuke said.

"Once again, nobody asked you." I turned around to continue my training. The started at the same time too. We practiced for hours, not talking to each other. Each of us focused on the tree in front of us. Eventually, I managed to climb higher than Naruto, but Sasuke was still way ahead of me. _Damn it! Sasuke is far ahead of me! And Naruto is catching up too! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! _I continued to use these thoughts as fuel to drive me to climb higher than Sasuke. Unfortunately, it wasn't working out the way I planned. As I was preparing to once again climb, Sasuke's voice interrupted my concentration.

"Hey, Naruto." There was a loud thud as Naruto fell to the ground.

"What the hell is your problem?! Can't you see I'm trying to focus?!" the loud-mouthed blond yelled and our teammate.

"Well... Umm..."

"What is it?"

"Wha-What did Sakura tell you?" This took my interest as I was curious as well. I walked over and butted in to their conversation, like Sasuke always did to mine. _Heh, how do ya like a taste of your own medicine, Sasuke?!_ I said to myself as I walked over.

"Yeah what did she tell you?"

"It's a secret!" At this statement both Sasuke and I glared at the stupid idiot. Something changed between the two boys after that. Well not really changed, it just seemed to strengthen how competitive they were against each other. Later that night we were all eating. I was enjoying my meal like a normal person like everyone else in the room was doing. On the other hand, Naruto and Sasuke were scarfing down their food as if their lives depended on it.

"Wow! This is super fun! It's been a long time since we ate with so many people." Tazuna said.

"More!" Naruto and Sasuke both yelled simultaneously. Then they both looked at each other and threw up.

"IF you're going to throw up then stop eating!" Sakura yelled.

"No, I must eat." Sasuke said stubbornly.

"Yeah, we have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger." Naruto said. I on the other hand, Had lost my appetite and just sat there at the table, not doing anything. Sakura got up and looked at a picture on the wall.

"Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall?" The happy air about the room seemed to dissipate just then. "Inari was staring at this during dinner. It seems like someone purposely removed the person that was n the picture." Their was a brief silence, almost sad and mournful, before Inari's mom answered.

"It's my husband."

"And... The man called the hero of the city..." Tazuna replied. Inari abruptly got up.

"Inari, where are you going? Inari!" His mother called after him as he walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. "Father! I have told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" She left in the exact manner her son did.

"What's wrong with Inari?" Sakura asked.

"There seems to be some kind of explanation." Sensei said. That's when the old man began his story.

"Inari had a father; not related by blood. They were very close. Like a real father and son. Inari would laugh alot back then. But... But Inari has changed... Since the incident with his father. The word "courage" has been stolen from the people of the island. And from Inari... Ever since that day... Because of that incident."

"That incident? What happened to Inari?" Sensei asked.

"Before I get to that, I first... Have to tell you about the man who was called the hero of this city."

"Hero?" Naruto inquired.

"It was about 3 years ago... Inari met that man..." Tazuna said as he began to tell the story. He told us how the man had saved Inari from drowning after some boys had pushed him off a dock into water that was to deep for him seeing as he didn't know how to swim. The boys had first thrown Inari's dog in, but the dog couldn't swim either and Inari was too scared to jump in after it. When the boys pushed him in the deep water, the dog learned at that exact moment how to dog paddle and seeing as Inari didn't stop to save it, it didn't stop to save Inari. That's when the man rescued Inari.

"His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. After that, Kaiza and Inari became very close. It may have been because Ianri's real father died before he got to know him, but he and Kaiza were inseparable, like a real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became part of the family. And Kaiza was also a man the city needed." Then the bridge builder began telling us how Kaiza risked his life during a flood to keep the village from being destroyed. "And then... Kaiza was called a hero by the people of this city. And Inari could not be prouder of his father. But Gatou came to this city..."

"And then the incident happened?" Kakashi sensei deducted. At this point all of us, including Sasuke, we're interested to know what happened to this hero. "What exactly happened?" Sensei inquired.

"Kaiza was... Put to death by Gatou!"

"What?" Sakura asked. We were all just as surprised as she was. He then told us everything that happened that day that Inari changed and the incident happened.

"From that day Inari changed... As did Tsunami and the whole city.." Naruto, who had seemed to be brooding, got up then slipped and fell flat on his face.

"OW!"

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"If you thinking of training, take the day off. You've already released too much chakra, anymore and you could die. Yuki's gotten lucky, she's only managed to faint."

"Sensei! No need to call me out on it!"

"It's true."

"Whatever."

"I'm going to prove it." Naruto said.

"What?" Sakura asked. "That Yuki really did just get lucky and didn't die."

"Shut up, Sakura."

"I'm going to prove that in this world... Heroes do exist!" We all looked at the blond ninja. _Idiot..._ I thought as I smiled at him. _You don't have to prove it because it's already true. And for some reason, I feel as if I am looking at three heroes right now._

Hope you liked this chapter! How'd you like my twist! XD Sorry it took so long! next chapter coming soon!


	12. Chapter 12

Yuki

It had been another restless night of nightmares. The Same one over and over. The only difference is the pain of being tortured last longer and longer and they seem too just get worse with every passing night, I just wish they would stop!

I thought this as I went through my daily routine of getting up. It was the sixth day that I would train now. It had become a contest to see who could reach the to first. Sometimes Naruto would stay out all night traing and wouldn't come home till the next morning. I went down stairs soon followed by Sasuke and a yawning Sakura.

"Naruto didn't come back again last night?" Mr. Tazuna inquired.

"He's been climbing trees all alone since he heard your story. He's very simple..." Sakura stated. "He may have used too much chakra and died by now..." _Wow, underestimate much?_

"I hope he's alright. A child all alone at night in the woods..." Ms. Tsunami said. I couldn't help but smile seeing as she reminded me of how mom was whenever she worried about me or my dad.

"Don't worry! He might not look it, but he's a true ninja." Sensei said, reassuring her.

"I don't know.. It wouldn't surprise me if he was dead... That moron..." Sasuke interjected.

"Sasuke! Be nice." I said, feeling the need to reprimand him seeing as Inari just walked in the room. Sasuke got up.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"Traing." He answered simply.

"Me too."

"Wait did you both-" she was cut off by the door as it closed behind me. I couldn't hear her through it. Sasuke and I walked in silence to where we had been training for the past six days. We passed a person on the way there. It had seemed they had been talking with Naruto. Though I couldn't tell whether it was a really flat0chested chick or a very pretty boy. Either way, something seemed oddly familiar about him- or her. Sasuke glared back at them as the kept walking pass. Was he sensing the same thing as me?

"Come on loser." Sasuke said. "We don't have time for you to lay around. Unless you want me and Yuki to beat you." He said, getting back to his usually overly cocky self.

"There is no way I'm losing to a girl!" Naruto yelled.

"You've already been beaten by one you idiot!" I said. His ego instantly deflated.

"Oh yeah, right... Sakura."

"Come on idiots. Let's get back to training." Sasuke said.

"Hey I've got an idea," I stated.

"What?" Naruto said.

"Let's make this a game. Who ever gets to the top of their tree first, wins."

"What's the prize." Naruto said, enthused as usual.

"Bragging rights?" I suggested. Then Sasuke got this smirk on his face. Something told me I wasn't going to like this.

"How about one of the losers has do whatever the winner tells them to for a whole week after we get back home?" Sasuke suggested and of course Naruto liked it.

"I don't know, I mean what if we don't have time for stuff like that?" I said, trying to get out of it.

"It sounds great to me!" Naruto said.

"Two to one. My suggestion wins." Sasuke said.

"Screw you, Uchiha." I said and grabbed my kunai.

"On the count of three let's go." Sasuke said. "One."

"Two." I said.

"Three!" Naruto yelled and we all began our training. Again.

IT was the next morning. The three of us saw Sakura and Sensei coming towards us so we decided to hide in branches of our trees, but no higher than our last mark.

"Where's Naruto?" Sensei inquired. "He left again by himself last night."

"He's missing at breakfast. Plus Sasuke went off on a walk and hasn't come back." They both gasped as a kunai landed at their feet. They looked up to see Naruto laying on a branch high up in the tree.

"Hey! No love for me?" I laughed jumping on the branch next to him. Sensei looked at my tree and I think he was just as amazed as he was with Naruto.

"What do you think? Look how high I can climb now!" He proceeded to stand up, using me as a way to help him up and we both begun to fall backwards.

"Ahh! Idiot!" Sakura and I yelled Simultaneously.

"Oh No! If you fall from that height!" I heard sensei say from where he was standing with his crutches. Then Naruto and I began to laugh. stick to the beach upside down.

"Just kidding! "Naruto said, seeing as I was too busy laughing at their faces to talk. "Ahha you fell for it!"

"You scared me!" Sakura said. Just then, Naruto really did fall. He grabbed onto my arm which in turn caused me to get sidetracked and lose control so I too began to fall.

"Idiots! Stop showing off!" Sakura yelled as we both screamed. Then I felt something grab my ankle.

"Morons." Sasuke said. _Glad I had decided to wear pants._

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in my ear.

"Yay! Sasuke! You're the best!" Sakura yelled. _And on wit the fangirling. _Sasuke flipped both of us onto a near by branch and the flipped himself up-right.

"Um.. Thanks." I said, a slight blush of embarrassment coming to my face. I hated being careless enough to have to be saved.

"Don't mention it." He said, in his usual I'm-way-to-cool-for-you voice. I wanted so badly to smack him. The three of us climbed down to meet with Sakura and Kakashi Sensei.

"Well, Sakura and I just came down to check on you three. Is there anything you need?" Sensei said once we got down.

"  
"I'm good." I said. The two boys gave similar comments.

"Alright then, We'll see you later."

"OK." We all said and got back to our training.

It was night time before we were through. Each of us had reached the top of our trees. We were all sweating and beaten up. My clothed smelled of would.

"Time to go back?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto said.

"Agreed." I replied.

"Then let's go." He said. He paused just a moment longer, and for some reason I took that moment to look at him as he stood there, his face facing the crescent moon that hung in the night sky. I actually admired the way the moon light shined on this face and reflected in his onyx eyes. I have know clue why.

Sasuke

I pretended to look at the moon, but in reality, I was looking at Yuki. I could tell she was watching me too. she looked amazing. She was wearing a black shirt that had sleeves that stopped where her shoulders and arm connected and black pants that stopped just below her knee. She looked like a true ninja. The moon shined beautifully on her pail skin and her long black hair. It reflected just as beautifully in her blue eyes.  
Yuki

"See something you like?" Sasuke said arrogantly.

"Yeah, the moon."

"I call bull shit."

"Save it for the card game."

"Whatever, let's just get back and get something to eat."

"Yeah." I said as he climbed. We had to practically carry Naruto all the way there. Each of us had and arm around his waist and one of his arms around our shoulders.

"Oh.. You guys are finally back. What's this? You guys look super dirty and worn out." Mr. Tazuna said.

"Heh... All three of us..." Naruto said, out of breath.

"Made it to the top." Sasuke finished.

"All right! Naruto, Sasuke, Yuki... Starting tomorrow.. You three will also help protect Mr. Tazuna."

"Ok!" Naruto yelled really loudly. He also raised an arm in the air so fast that it caused both him and Sasuke to lose their balance, and he reflexively grabs my arm, taking me down with them.

"You Idiot!" I yell at the same time Sasuke yells something like "You moron!" as we all go crashing to the floor. But we're all laughing. _You know what, I'm starting to feel like I'm actually part of a family again._

Hope you like it. Sorry if it's boring. I wrote it between 4:30 AM and 5:50 AM. So Yeah I was tried, XD


	13. Chapter 13

Sasuke

We just came in from training. After training for the seventh day, we finally made it to the top of the trees. We all got there at the same time. Naruto and Yuki yelling "I'm first!" at the same time. In reality, we all made it at the same time. I smiled at the memory at their dismay at that, seeing as there was no winner, as we all set down.

"Hehe. I'm also worn out from today's bridge work. At any rate the bridge is almost complete."

"Naruto, Father, don't overdo it ok?" Ms. Tsunami said. They both gave noises that assured everyone that they heard her. I managed a small, tired smile. They seemed very much alike at that moment. And to think that at the beginning of this mission, they couldn't stand each other. Naruto looked up a Inari. I too looked in Inari's direction to notice that he was crying.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, You're still no match for Gatou's men! Na mater what glorious claims you make od how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!" We all looked at Inari as he yelled at us.

"Whatever kid," Naruto said bluntly. "I'm not like you."

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy!" Inari screamed at us. "What the hell do you know about me?! I'm different from you, you're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life cam be!"

"So... It's ok for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry all day?" Naruto said. Then, something about his voice and attitude change. He became very angry. He turned all this anger on Inari. "Just keep on crying forever you idiot! You little sissy!"

"Naruto, you've said enough!" Sakura yelled.

"Hmph!" and with that Naruto left. Inari continued crying.

"I pushed myself pretty far today. I'm going to bed now." Yuki said getting up. She didn't stick around to hear our goodnights.

Yuki

I went to bed. I just hoped that the nightmares wouldn't come today. I got dressed and brushed my hair then layed down and went to sleep. the nightmares began again. This was the longest yet, There was no doubt I would wake with a sore throat.

Sasuke

I was lying in the bed in the room I was given, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. Suddenly, Sakura came flying through my door. She looked as if someone had smacked her around a bit.

"Sasuke! You have to come now!" She said.

"What is it. What's wrong?" I said.

"It's Yuki. I was in my room when I heard her screaming again. I figured it was just her having more nightmares. I waited a while, but she wouldn't stop screaming. So I went to go wake her up but when I touched her she hit me. Couldn't get near her without her freaking out."

"Come on, let's go." We both ran towards Yuki's room. I could hear her screams coming from the open door. She was lying on the bed, screaming as if someone were physically hurting her. I told Sakura to stay by the door. Then I went up to Yuki. When I reached for her she smacked my hand way and continued screaming. She kept tossing and turning and screaming. I reached for her again, this time when she went to smack my hand away I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me. I held her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her so that she couldn't move hers. She kept struggling and screaming against me.

"Sakura, it's ok. Go back to bed."

"But -"

"I've got this, you need to be rested for tomorrow. Go back to bed."

"Okay." And with that she left.

"Yuki, it's me. It's Sasuke. Wake up. It's just a dream. You're safe." I talked into her ear. "Come on, wake up. You're safe now. You're with me." I kept repeating this until she stopped screaming and woke up. She woke up and looked at me. "Hey." I said hoarsely.

"Sasuke?" She said. I could tell her throat was sore. "I-"

"It's okay go back to sleep. You're safe now." I said laying her back down and covering her up. When I got to the door she said something.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" I thought she was going to ask me to not tell anybody,

"Can...Can you stay with me for the rest of the night?"

"Yeah." I said and closed the door and walked back over to her. I laid next to her but on top of the blanket. She faced away from me but I could tell she couldn't sleep still. I sighed the pulled her towards me. "Come here." I said and made her put her head on my chest. "Better?" I said looking down at her. I didn't really get answer because she was already asleep. I put an arm around her and was soon asleep myself.

Yuki

I woke up in someone's arms. At first I couldn't remember, then I recalled last night. I knew I was in Sasuke's arms and I was safe. I wanted to stay like this, just for a little while. I don't know why, I just did. I went back to sleep seeing as I couldn't get up anyways seeing a Sasuke had his arm around me. Before I went to sleep though, I looked up because I wanted to see his face. He was smiling.

I woke once again. Sasuke was still holding me, but this time I knew I had to get up this time. I slowly slipped my arm under his but before I could lift it up, he woke.

"Hey." I said, feeling a little guilty for waking him.

"Hey yourself."

"Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I was already half awake."

"Oh, okay." I said meekly.

"Ya know, I would be able to get up if you got up first."

"Oh right! Sorry!" I got up so quickly that I ended up falling backwards. Sasuke seemed to hide a smile of amusement as he helped me up.

"Come on. Let's go." He said offering me a hand to help me up.

"Right." I said taking his hand. "Umm, just let me change first."

"Okay." he said with a chuckle. I got some clothes from my bag and went to the bathroom changed and brushed my hair. Sasuke had stayed in the same clothes he was wearing yesterday. I decided to wear a black t-shirt that was a little too big. It seemed to slip off my shoulders and went down to my mid thigh like a dress. I also wore some tight black pants. As I shut the door, I could feel his eyes on me.

"See something you like?" I asked, using his phrase that he so often used with me whenever I was caught staring at him. Surprisingly he answered, so close to me from behind that I physically jumped.

"Yes," He said in my ear, or rather whispered. _What the hell is he doing?_ "I like the way you look in that outfit." I turned around and put my hands on his chest. My heart was pounding. _Do I really want this? No..._

"Sasuke... I- I don't want you like that. I - I need to focus on the mission. We need to focus on the mission. And if we were to like each other it won't be the client we try to protect it would be each other. I don't need that. I don't want that." As I said this, his eyes went cold, like ice.

"Right... And that's why you invited me into your bed..."

"I didn't invite you into nothing! I was scared alright! I was scared of the dreams! I-" I caught myself and stopped yelling. "I didn't want those nightmares to come back. I-I just wanted it all to be over. Maybe if I hadn't run. Maybe if I had been stronger. Maybe -"

Sasuke

"Maybe it I hadn't run. Maybe if I had been stronger. Maybe-" She broke down, crying right there.

"Maybe what? What are you talking about?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said running an arm across here eyes, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Better to talk about it than cry about it." I said, sounding a little harsher than I meant to.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

"Yuki -"

"Damn you! I said I don't want to talk about it!"

"Whatever." I walked out leaving her crying. I didn't want to, but I felt guilty about it.

Yuki

I finally quit crying. Then I went to where every one was eating.

"Hi." Sakura said. Sasuke was silent and acted like I hadn't even walked into the room.

"Hey." I replied. "Where's Naruto?" I said.

"Still asleep." Sensei said.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Just then Mr. Tazuna walked in.

"You guys ready?" He said.

"Well, Yuki -"

"It's fine Sakura. I'm not hungry. Let's go."

"Right." Sensei said. We all got up and walked out the door, followed by Ms. Tsunami.

"Goodbye! Please take care of Naruto." Sensei said. "He's pushed his body to the limit. I don't think he'll be able to move today."

"Ok, Let's go." Mr. Tazuna said.

"Yes." His daughter said and then we were off. Tazuna and Sensei were in front Sakura in the middle and Sasuke and I brought up the rear. I decided to start a conversation. This whole thing of him being mad at me was eating at me and It was driving me crazy. I needed him to not be mad at me so we could work better as a team. That was my reason right?

"Sasuke, look, I don't want you to be mad at me. I was just... Last night I was just scared."

"You had nothing to be afraid of. Unless you're afraid of the dark." He said in the same manner he would call Naruto a scaredy-cat or a loser.

"That's not it, and you know it!"

"Then explain it to me." He said facing me as he stopped right in front of me.

"Even if I did you wouldn't understand." I replied looking away from him.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I know you! "

"Do you? Really?" At this I just looked at him, confused. "Yuki, tell me." It came out as a command but it sounded just as much as if he were begging to know.

"Why?"

"Because I want to understand you." I wanted to tell him. God I wanted to, but now wasn't the time nor the place.

"I'll tell you when the mission's over and we're back home. Agreed?"

"Whatever," He said. I think I annoyed him. We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we got there, we saw all the men had been beaten up.

"Wha - What's this?!" The old man said. He ran over to one of the workers and lifted his head up so he could talk. "What?! What happened?!"

"A monster..." The wounded man replied. Just then a thick mist appeared and surrounded us. We all surrounded Tazuna.

"Here they come!" Sensei said.

"Kakashi Sensei, this is... this is his Hidden Mist Jutsu, right?! Sakura asked. She was as scared as I was. I don't like admitting it but yes I was terrified. But I knew I could count on my teammates to help me face these fears and we could face this monster together.

"Long time no see, Kakashi." An all to familiar sinister voice spoke out from the mist. "I see you're still with those brats... He's shaking again... Poor kid.,," _He? He means Sasuke. Is he as terrified as me?_ I thought to myself. Just then, we were surrounded on all sided by Zabuza's clones.

"I'm shaking from excitement!" I heard Sasuke say._ Of course he isn't afraid._ I thought, smiling. Typical Sasuke.

"Do it. Sasuke." Sensei said. In a second all for of the clones were gone. Sasuke had destroyed them all.

"Show off." I said loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey, I can't help it if I am just that good." He said almost mockingly.

"Smart ass."

"Better than being a dumb ass." He said. A scoffed an rolled my eyes, letting him have the final say.

"Hmm... He saw through the water clones. That brat has grown. It looks like a rival has appeared... Eh Haku?" Zabuza said.

"It does indeed." The masked boy replied.

"It seems my thinking was right on the mark." Sensei said. "That masked one... He's obviously Zabuza's comrade, standing next to him and all."

"He should stop hiding under that mask and face us!" The old man said,

"I'll fight him.." Sasuke said, "Tricking us with that stupid act... I hate bastards like that the most." He said.

"You're so cool, Sasuke." Sakura said.

"You're not fighting him alone." I said.

"Yuki, no. I need you here to protect Tazuna while I fight Zabuza," Sensei said.

"But What about -"

"If anything goes wrong I'll send you in as back up."

:"Alright." I Said satisfied with not having to sit on the sidelines the entire time.

"An impressive young man. Even though the water clones only have 1/10th of the strength of the original." Haku said. "Still very impressive."

"But we have the first advantage. Go!" Zabuza commanded.

"Yes." The boy said as he spun so fast that he appeared to be a whirlwind. Then, he and Sasuke began their battle. the first hit wound up being a draw. Their blades connected, one not able to pass the other.

"I don't want to have to kill you... But you won't stand down, will you?" Haku said.

"Don't be foolish." Sasuke replied.

"I see, but you won't be able to keep up wit h my speed next time. Plus I've gained two advantages."_ What!?_

"Two advantages?"

"The first is the water on the ground and the second is that I have occupied one of your arms. You will now only be able to run from my attacks." The boy then started doing hand signs with one hand. I'd never seen anything like that before. "Special Jutsu. Flying Water Needles." Just then the water on the ground shot up into the air and became like needles. I didn't think this was the right time for me to intervene though because I could tell Sasuke a trick up his sleeve as well.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura, it's okay."

"How can you say that?" She questioned.

"Because, Sasuke has a trick of his own. Watch." When all the needles made contact there was an explosion of water. Haku jumped back to avoid it. When it cleared up, Sasuke was gone. "See, told ya." I said proud that I had been right. Then Haku had to jump back to avoid the shuriken's that Sasuke threw at him. He avoided them all.

"You're pretty slow..." He said from behind his masked opponent. "From now on... You will only be able to run from my attacks." And with that Sasuke swung a kunai in Haku's direction. Haku blocked it wit ha needle. Then Sasuke released it, sending it flying a the masked boy's head. When Haku ducked, Sasuke proceed to kick him in the face, sending him flying beck several feet. "Looks like I have the advantage in speed."

"I can't have you underestimating my team by calling them "brats". Sasuke is the Leaf Village's #1 rookie. Yuki is one of our best fighters. Sakura is the brightest in the village. And the other one is... The show-off, hyper-active, #1 loudest ninja in the village." Sensei said. I felt proud that he believed in us as his team. That's when Zabuza started laughing.

"Haku, do you realize? At this rate we'll be driven back." Zabuza said.

"Yeah, we can't have that." The masked boy replied as he got up. I could see the chakra emanating from his body and realized at that moment, Something was about to go very wrong. "Special Jutsu, Crystal Ice Mirrors." a dome of mirrors surrounded Sasuke. I watched in amazement a Haku stepped into one of the mirrors! Sensei ran to go help but Zabuza got in his way.

"Hwy, Your opponent is me. Against that jutsu, he's finished." Zabuza stated as he blocked Sensei's path to Sasuke. _What does he mean he's finished._ Then I heard Sasuke's scream. There was no time to think. I just reacted. I ran toward the dome of mirrors, my kunai in my hand. Just as I was about to plunge the knife into the mirrors surface there was a sharp pain all over my body. I could taste the blood in my mouth. I heard someone scream but I couldn't make out what they had said. Then everything went black and at that moment I knew... _It's all over._

_  
Hope you like it. I was kind of thinking about Jace from the Mortal Instruments series when I wrote some of Sasuke's lines. But if You think about it, Jace is the Sasuke of Mortal Instruments. XD And don't worry. It's not really all over. You'll see in the next chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

Sasuke

Through the pain, I watched as Yuki fell, shurikens that Zabuza had thrown sticking out of her body. I screamed her name as she crashed to the ground, lifeless.

"Sasuke!" I heard Sakura call out to me. I looked up and saw that she had thrown a kunai in my direction. Just then Haku appeared and caught it in mid air. Just then, something came out of no where and hit him, causing him to fall out of the mirror. Hit had to be a shuriken or a kunai since it wasn't a person. And seeing as it didn't come from the same direction as Sakura and Kakashi Sensei, I had one guess who I was, and that was all I needed._ That idiot... Show off!_ I thought to myself though I couldn't help but smile.

"Naruto Uzumaki has finally arrive!" The dork yelled. "Now that I'm here everything will be fine! The main character of a story usually shows up in these types of situation and instantly... Kicks the enemy's ass!"

"Naruto!" Sakura said. _You talk too much..._ I thought. Zabuza threw shurikens at Naruto. At the same time Haku threw his needles and they cancel each other out.

"Haku, what is this?"

"Zabuza... these kids... Please let me fight them my way."

"So you don't want me to interfere, Haku? You're as soft as always..." _Soft... He's right. Attacking with needles, yet not aiming at high damage areas. Is he not trying to kill me? But what's this jutsu? Having Naruto attacking from the outside..._

"Hey! I came to save you!" Naruto said, suddenly in front of me.. _Shit! _

"You moron! If you're a shinobi then use your head! Why did you come inside the mirrors?! Damn it! I don't care anymore! You're an idiot!" I yelled ranting.

"What did you say?! I come to save you and this is what I get?!" He yelled. Haku stepped back into the mirror. _Okay there's the real one._

"Over here." Haku said from behind me. _He moved?! Then... I'll just break these mirrors!_

"What's going on here?" Naruto asked, not grasping the situation.

"Fire Style!" _If these mirrors are made of ice then..._"Fireball Jutsu!"

"It didn't do anything!" Naruto said.

"You can't melt this ice with that level of fire." Haku said, as if he were talking to a child.

"Damn." That's when the onslaught began.

"Where's the real one?!" Naruto said.

"Trying to follow with your eyes is impossible. You will never be able to catch me."

"Bah! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Don't!" I yelled trying to stop him. I watched as all of his Shadow Clones were diminished one by one. But I also caught something else.

"This jutsu uses the Mirror's reflection to transport me. From my point of view you seem to be moving in slow motion."

"Damn it!" I heard Naruto curse. I looked at him. "I can't die here... I have a dream that I must fulfill."

"Becoming a shinobi is difficult for me..." Haku said out of no where. "If possible, I don't want to have to kill you. Nor want you to have to kill me. But if you come at me... I can destroy my kind heart with a blade and become a true shinobi. this bridge is the place where we fight... To defend our dreams. Me, for my dream. And you for your dreams. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me. To work for that person. To fight for that person. To make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream. For that I can become a shinobi. I can kill you." And with that his whole demeanor changed, he was no longer the soft hearted guy that had spared me. He had become a true enemy. Naruto and I couldn't help but smile at the guy, because he was right.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Don't lose to that guy!" I heard Sakura yell. She believed in us too. Much like Yuki had. I had to win this fight... For Sakura... For me... For my dream... For Yuki... And for my revenge...


	15. Chapter 15

Sasuke

"Damn! Hey Sasuke, all we're doing is running around!" Naruto said, frustrated.

"Be quiet and get up!" I commanded "I can't watch over you too!" I yelled. I didn't want to have to see another person die. Not again. "We are going to be hit, just try to avoid a serious wound. There must be a limit to his chakra. He is already slowly..." _Here it comes! _I thought to myself, preparing to block with my kunai. Not that it helped much. After another onslaught of needles I heard someone scream. _That was Sakura's voice! What happened?! What's Kakashi doing?! _I thought to myself, not wanting to get Naruto distracted by him worrying about Sakura. We needed to stay focus so that we could survive this.I looked over at the blond, he wasn't doing to good either. He was almost at his limit. _Damn it... This is bad. I must do something... My eyes are getting used to it..._

"You move well." Haku observed. "But this time I'll stop you." _He's coming! Calm down... Concentrate... And see through it!_ And with that thought I ran, picked up Naruto and managed to dodge any needles aimed for critical wounds. Even if I still ended up dropping Naruto and falling backwards. I rolled and skidded to a stop. But now, I could see it!

"You are! I see... You are also from an advanced bloodline..." Haku observed. _Just a little bit... But I can see it! _I thought with excitement and the tiniest hope that I might just win this. "Then, I can't fight for much longer... My jutsu uses a lot of chakra, there's a limit on how long I can keep up this speed. Most likely the longer this fight goes on... If your eyes are starting to catch me, then." He stopped talking and prepared for another attack. "This is the end!" He said and charged at... _What? At Naruto?! _There was no time to think. My body just moved. _Damn! Please make it in time!_ I made it. I knocked Haku away from Naruto. My entire body hurt. I could taste the blood pooling in my mouth now, but I managed to save that loser.

"Geez... All you ever do is get in the way..." I said once I noticed he was conscious. I didn't know how I was managing to keep standing.

"Sasuke! You!" He said, a smile on his face. The idiot hadn't even realized what just happened. Then, once he did, his whole expression changed.

"What's... With that face... You... Moron..." I said, looking back at him.

"Why?"

"How... Should I know..." I said as all these memories came flooding back to me. Your life really does flash before your eyes when you die. "Pft. I hated you."

"But... But... Why? Why me?" I didn't answer. "I never asked for your help!" He screamed at me.

"I don't know... My body just moved on its own... Idiot." I said. Then I collapsed. Naruto caught me. "That... Man... My brother... I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him... Don't you die too..." I said as everything went black. But my true final thoughts were not of my brother. They were of Yuki. Was this how she felt when she died? _I just wish... I could have been there for her..._

Still not over I promise. Feel free to ask questions. You can either ask them in the reviews or inbox me. I don't care either way. Chapter 16 coming soon!


	16. Chapter 16

Yuki

_What's going on? Am I dead? No, If I were dead I wouldn't be in this much pain. _I felt someone picking me up. As soon as my body made contact with theirs a searing pain went through me and I cried out. The person who had been holding me was Naruto.

"Yuki! You're alive!" He practically screamed. I was glad that he was happy.

"Is the fight over?"

"Yeah."

"Where's Sasuke?" There was a long pause before he finally reluctantly answered.

"Over there. Sakura is with him..." I looked over to where he looked to see Sakura on the ground hunched over Sasuke. _No, no, no, no._

"NO!" I yelled and jumped out of Naruto's arms and ran to Sasuke. It didn't matter how much my body hurt or that I was just making my wounds worse. I had to get to him. I had to get to Sasuke's side. I was about two steps away when I fell face first onto the ground. Lacking the strength to crawl, I dragged my self to his side. I clasped his hand in mind and squeezed it as hard as I could. He was so cold. Sakura was still crying over him, I doubt she even noticed me. I knew I wouldn't be able to scream at him like I wanted to so instead I pulled my head up next to his and spoke in his ear.

"Don't you dare be dead you bastard. I didn't almost die to let you die too. Don't you dare be dead." I sobbing as I spoke. "Damn it, Sasuke! Don't die. Please. Sasuke... I love you." The words came out before I could stop them, but I didn't regret it. I only regretted not saying them sooner.

Sasuke

I heard crying. _Did I... Die? _Someone said my name. _Sakura?! Am I? Am I? _

"Sasuke, I love you." _Yuki..._ My eyes slowly opened.

"Sakura,... you're heavy." They all looked at me.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she hugged really tightly.

"Sakura that hurts..."

:AH! S- sorry..." She was just happy that I wasn't dead.

"I thought I heard Yuki.."

"Right here, dumbass." She said smiling.

"How? I thought you were dead."

"Guess he just managed to knock me out." She said smiling.

"Yuki!" Sakura said, tacking her and knocking me back over in the process.

"OW!" We both said at the same time.

"Sakura, wounds!" Yuki managed.

"Sorry! I'm just happy you're both alive."

"What about Naruto? And that... Masked kid?" I asked as I tried to get up all the way this time.

"Don't move! Naruto is fine! And that masked kid is dead..."

"Dead? Did Naruto kill him?"

"N-No... I'm not sure, but he protected Zabuza."

"I see..."

"I had faith in you. It's impressive that you prevented attacks to your critical areas!" She said happily.

"No..." Just then Yuki cried out in pain.

"You shouldn't move either. You may not have as many but your wounds are worse than Sasuke's." Sakura said.

"Come here. If you want to sit up, I'll help you." I said offering Yuki a hand. She took it gratefully and I let her lean on me for support, even though it hurt.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. The blond turned around and looked at us. "He's alright! Sasuke is alive! And so is Yuki!" I was standing now and helping Yuki up. We both waved to him. He looked at us and smiled with tears in his eyes. The big cry baby.

Yuki

I was glad to see that everyone was ok. We were all happy once again. Then a huge group of men, who I assumed were Gatou's lackeys and I had failed to notice them before, started making a bunch of noise.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You guys are too at ease!"

"Damn ninjas... You killed our meal ticket!"

"You guys are dead!"

"Now we're gonna pillage this city."

"And take anything of value!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Let's begin!" Just then an arrow came out of no where and landed a few feet away from the rouges. It was Inari and the rest of the villagers.

"If you come any further onto our island... The citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!" The kid said. I couldn't help but smile.

"Inari... You..." The old man seemed so happy he was gonna cry.

"Inari!" Naruto yelled.

"Hehe. A hero shows up at the last second right?" The boy said with a huge smile on his face. I t reminded me of a certain knuckhead ninja.

"OK! I can help out!" Naruto said, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Just then, Sensei did something amazing.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu! Kakashi Style! So, you want some of this?" I almost burst out laughing. No sane person would want to go against that many Kakashi's, even less that many Naruto's. The sight of all the rouges jumping off the unfinished bridge to get away just made it all the more comical. All the villagers cheered. Sensei and Naruto released the jutsu. Sensei walked over to Zabuza. He appeared to be talking to him. When Kakashi picked him up and started carrying him over to lay him next to Haku, it started snowing.

"Yuki." I heard Sasuke say.

"Hmm?"

"Snow, your name means snow."

"Yeah." I said.

"So, question. When I was unconscious, did you say you love me?"

"No, that was Sakura. I said Don't you dare be dead you damn bastard."

"Oh, well, yeah that does sound like you." he said then continued to watch the snow. I would never tell him the truth though. Never in a million years.

See! Told you it wasn't over! XD


	17. Chapter 17

2 Weeks Later

Yuki

We all stood in front of Zabuza's and Haku's graves to say goodbye.

"Kakashi Sensei..." Sakura asked. "Were these two correct about ninja?" I think we all had been asking ourselves this question.

"A shinobi isn't supposed to pursue his own goals... Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing... That's the same for the Leaf Village."

"Is that what it really means to become a true ninja?" Naruto asked, "You know what?! I don't like it!"

"You believe that too?! Sasuke questioned,

"Well each and every ninja has to live while dealing with that issue... Just like Zabuza... And that boy."

"Ok," Naruto said, breaking the silence. "I just decided! I'm going to be a ninja in my own way!" Sensei just stares at him for a second, then he smiled. We could all see now that Naruto has grown up. After that we grabbed our things from Tazuna's house and started heading back to the Leaf Village. Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari all walked with us to the bridge.

"Thanks to you we've completed the bridge, but..." The old man said, "This is super sad..."

"Thank you for everything." Sensei replied.

"Don't worry! We'll come back and visit!" Naruto interjected. _Idiot! Making promises he can't keep._

"You better." Inari said, almost crying.

"Inari... You're sad right? It's alright to cry!" Naruto said. I could easily tell he was trying not to cry himself.

"I'm not going to cry! But Naruto you can cry too!" _Oh brother. This is getting really ridiculous. _

"Fine..." Naruto said turning around, "Later..." we all walked turned and walked away. It was time to go home. "Yay! Let's get home fast so I can have Iruka Sensei buy me some ramen!" Naruto said, excited to get back home. "Oh yeah! And I have to tell Konohamaru about mu legendary feats!"

"Then I will." Sakura started. "Sasuke, how about a date when we get back?"

"No thanks."

"B-but..."

"Hey, Hey?! How about me?!"

"No! Shut up Naruto!" I sighed. This was going to be a very, very long trip home. But at least we lived to make it back home.

A few hours later

I was be in my own home that night. Sasuke unlocked the door and I immediately went to the couch.

"It feels good to finally be home!" I said, plopping down on one of the cushions and sprawling out. Sasuke smiled and shook his head.

"I'm going to bed," he said, "but first..." opened my eyes to see his face inches from mine. "You have a promise to fulfill." _Shit! I'd forgotten about that, why couldn't he?_ "So if you want a good night's rest, I suggest you tell me. Otherwise, I'm not moving."

"Won't that equal out to you not getting any sleep either?" I asked, deciding to be a smartass.

"Yes, but unlike you, I can function without it."

"I can function without it too!"

"No you can't. You become slow and indecisive. And you start zoning out and not paying attention to anything around you, which causes you to get hurt. So it would be in your best interest to tell me."

"Fine." I huffed. He sat up, as did I then I started telling him. There wasn't that much of a difference between what really happened and what happens in my nightmares. Except in reality, as soon as my mom got killed, I ran, I didn't stick around to see if they would spared me. I didn't even stick up for my dad when the white haired guy cussed him out. I just ran. That was the only thing I knew how to do then. Sasuke sat and listened as I told him the story without interrupting me. "Then, when I got to the village gate, one of the ninja who had seen me leave with my parents asked me what was wrong. All I could say was "They're dead." They took me to the hospital. I don't remember much after that except for when this woman claiming to be by aunt had come to take me in. Then a year after that the nightmares started. She couldn't stand me anymore. I was an embarrassment. She would throw late-night parties and then would have to stop them right in the middle because her guests could hear me screaming. I was nothing but a freak in that house. When I was ten, she kicked me out, saying that she could no longer support me and that I was an embarrassment to the family. I spit in her face and walked off. I didn't care. Ever since then, I've been taking care of myself."

"Living outside is not taking care of yourself." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Hey, my only income was the money I made working odd jobs. My aunt stole the inheritance I got from my parents and spent it all on herself. And if you ask me, I did a pretty damn good job of taking care of myself thank you." I said, trying to lighten the mood, I didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Right..." He said sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"I really don't feel like arguing with you right now."

"No, but apparently you feel like lying." I turned my head so fast that I thought my neck would break.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What makes you think I'm lying about my nightmares?"

"Not that, Lying about what you said. When you thought I was dead," _Oh... Shit I had thought he had forgotten about that by now._

"What makes you think I was lying about that?" I said, looking at the ground and laughing nervously, though I hoped he didn't know how nervous I was.

"I have two reasons actually. One, you said that that was Sakura who had said it, but I know I heard your voice because you and Sakura sound nothing alike." Usually I would thank god for that but at the moment I was wishing that we did have the same voice. "And secondly, you answered way to quickly when I asked you if you had said it." He was leaning really close to my face now. My heart skipped a beat as his dark eyes looked into mine and I forgot how to breath. "Yuki, look me in the eye and tell me that you don't like me. Look me in the eye and tell me that you weren't the one who said "I love you" on the bridge." I ended up looking at the floor.

"I don't love you." He took a hold of my chin and forced me to look him in the eye.

"I said look at me and say it. Not the floor."

"I-I don't love you." I said, stuttering. _Damn! Now he's definitely going to know that I'm lying._

"Liar." He said with a triumphant smirk. I couldn't breath like normal and I think he knew the effect he was having on me. "Maybe this will bring the truth out of you." He said, and at that moment he leaned in and kissed me. The one thing that surprised me, And I think it surprised him to, was that I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. _Damn he's a good kisser! _He slid his hand from my chin to the side of my face then finally rested it at the back of my head. I had one arm draped across the back of his neck while I clutched his shirt with the other hand. God I was loving this! Then I realized what we were doing. I pushed him away and got up so quickly that I almost fell.

"Sasuke, I can't!"

"Why not?" He demanded.

"Well," I said trying to come up with excuses. "Think about how it will affect our missions. If we end up on a dangerous mission where we have to protect a client we wouldn't be protecting the client, we'd be protecting each other. And what about your fan club. I really don't want to have to deal with them." _Wow, I sound like a bitch._

"Or you just don't want to open up to someone else." He said, taking a step closer to me. "You don't want someone else inside your head." He slowly wrapped his hands around my wrist, sending chills throughout my body. "You want to keep everyone on the outside, and be the only one who can understand you. You think that if you don't let any one in, then no one ace hurt you anymore. Let me in, I swear I will never hurt you." He was right. I was just afraid of letting people in. That's how I've been since my parents died.

"What about girls like Sakura and Ino?"

"What about them?"

"If we go out Then, they'll just keep pestering me until I break up with you. I really don't want to have to deal with them." He sighed.

"Tell you what. We don't have to let anyone know we're going out." He said, touching his forehead to mine. "It can be our little secret." He obviously won't take no for an answer. I sighed.

"Fine," Then I let out a very, very big yawn. He chuckled.

"Looks like someone's ready to go to bed."

"Guess so." I said, then I gave a surprised yelp as he picked me up bridal style and carried me to my room. It seemed surprisingly easy for him. When we got inside he laid me down and covered me with the blankets. He then kissed me on the forehead and started to leave when I grabbed his hand.

"Umm... Sasuke, can you stay with me tonight." I asked as I felt my face turn red from blushing.

"You're afraid of the nightmares, aren't you?" I only gave a small nod, not wanting to admit it out loud. He just crawled under the sheets, seeing as he never turned the light on, and laid next to me. I laid my head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around my small body.

"Sasuke, thank you." I said.

"Shhh, go to sleep now. You're safe." He said as he stroked his fingers through my hair. :I guess this means you're mine now, huh?" I gave a small nod before finally falling asleep. The nightmares never came that night.


	18. Chapter 18

Yuki

It was March 5th. Sasuke, Sakura and I were all standing in the place Sensei told us to meet. We were just waiting on Naruto and Kakashi sensei.

"Oh!" I heard Sakura say and turned to see what she was looking at. Naruto was running towards us.

"Good morning Sakura!" As if on cue, he noticed Sasuke was there too. They looked at each other then glared away. They had been like this ever since we had got back from our mission in the wave country. That also meant that Sasuke and I had been together for a while now. Sensei showed up 3 hours later.

"Hey guys! I got lost!"

"Stop lying with a straight face! Give it a rest!" Sakura yelled.

"Hey, hey! Kakashi Sensei! Lately all of our Team 7 missions have been too easy! I want a more. you know, hot one! Where I can shine! That follows my ninja path! And My heart just like-!" Naruto was cut off my Sensei's reply.

"Yeah, yeah" he sighed, "I pretty much know what you are going to say..." Naruto glared at Sasuke. He seemed to lose himself in a daydream as we walked off, leaving him behind.

"Hey, Naruto, What are you doing? Let's go!" Sakura yelled.

"Oh yeah!"

"You are really annoying today!" _Damn, he hasn't even done anything yet._ We went on and completed our mission for today. Naruto somehow managed to get himself beat up again.

"It's because you push yourself to much." Sakura commented. She had been helping him walk.

"Pft... Can't you take care if yourself?" Sasuke said. _Great. He just started another fight._

"God damn it!" Naruto yelled going after him.

"If you don't calm down, I'll finish you!" Sakura threatened as she held him back.

"Teamwork seems to be suffering a lot lately." Sensei said.

"Yeah! Yeah! You're the one ruining our teamwork, Sasuke! Always hogging the spotlight, you bastard!"

"That's you. You moron. If you want me to stop making you look bad," he stopped walking and looked back at Naruto "Then just become stronger then me."

"Ok, that's it for today." Sensei said "I have to go submit this mission report."

"Then I'm going home..." Sasuke said.

"Yeah I have some shopping to do." I said.

"Oh!" Sakura said "Hey Sasuke, wait. How about right now we work on our teamwork, just the two of us."

"You're the same as Naruto." He stated simply, crushing the poor girl. _Damn, harsh much? _"If you have time to bother me, practice a jutsu or two. Frankly your ability is below Naruto." _Damn~!_ And with that he walked off. Not wanting to have to deal with her moping and Naruto being an idiot, I left to. I had to get some stuff for the house since all we had was just cereal thanks to Mr. I-don't-buy-it-until-I-need-it. Quite frankly, we needed a lot of things. I stopped by the ramen shop and grabbed a bite to eat. After paying that I realized I didn't have enough to go shopping, I would have to go by the house and get some money out of my drawer. I took a back alley seeing as it was quicker then taking the main road. Getting distracted by a noise behind me, I wasn't watching where I was going and ran into someone. I fell backwards onto the ground, the person I bumped Into wasn't affected at all.

"Damn! That hurt." I said rubbing my forehead. "Sorry. I didn't see ya." I apologized as I got up and dusted myself off.

"Well, my day just got better, running into a hot girl like you." The person said. I looked up at them. It was a guy a little older than me. He wore al black and a black hood thing covered his head. He also wore some kind of war paint. Another thing I noticed was that he was a sand ninja.

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested in hooking up with strangers." I said politely, and started to walk past him. He grabbed my wrist then spun me around and pinned my arms against the wall.

"Oh so you're a leaf Genin too, that's not a surprise."

"Not many people would want to mess with a ninja, not matter what the rank." I said, trying to sound intimidating.

"All you Leaf Genin are weak," He scoffed. "I have nothing to fear from you." He said leaning in closer to my face.

"Get off me, you pig." I said, struggling against his weight on my wrist. "Unless you want to get really hurt." He was stronger than me, I couldn't do much damage.

"You know, it's not very often a girl turns me down." He said as if we were not in this situation, "That just makes me like you more."

"Let me go, or I'll scream." He then put his forearm to my throat, cutting off my air supply.

"Wouldn't want that, now would we?" He said, smiling as his hand went under my shirt and ran up my side. I winced as he increased the pressure on my throat and looked him in the eye. I saw that he didn't really want to d this. He was frustrated and taking his anger out on others was the only way he knew how. Just then I heard another voice.

"Kankuro, what are you doing?" He immediately let go and turned to the intruder. U could tell he feared the other boy.

"Garra! I - She attacked me first, I'm sorry, I got carried away. I was trying to send a message." The other boy looked at me as I was on one knee holding my throat and trying to catch my breath. He had red hair and a mark on his forehead. His sea foam green eyes held nothing but hatred.

"Kankuro, this is the second time you have disgraced the sand today. Do not et there be a third."

"Y-Yes Garra."

"I apologize for the action of my teammate." he said.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"The Chuunin Exams." He stated simply.

"OH, It's that time already, huh? Well thank you for your help." I said and walked away. As I walked, I fought the urge to run, wanted to get as far away from the red headed ninja as possible. When I got home, Sasuke was sitting on the couch.

"I thought you were going shopping."

"I was but I need some money for that." I said, closing the door. When I turned around, he was right behind me.

"What happened here?" He said, lightly brushing a finger against my bruised collar bone.

"Nothing, I just had a run in wit ha sand ninja who had a bad temper. That's all." His eyes seemed to widen at my statement.

"Did he have a gourd on his back?"

"No, but that one who saved me did. This one had purple war paint and was wearing all black."

"Yeah, Naruto and Sakura had a run in with them too."

"Ah..." He then pulled me into a soft but tight hug.

"Don't go back out tonight."

"Okay." I said, wanting to do nothing more than stay there in his embrace. We both walked to the couch and he faced me then touched where my chest was bruised from the ninja's arm earlier.

"Does it hurt."

"A little." I said, wincing. He increased the pressure only slightly. "Ow! What the hell."

"Sorry." He said smiling. He leaned forward and kissed me. As we kissed he slowly forced me to lie down, then he kissed my collar. "Better?" He murmured against it.

"Much." I said, smiling. I loved how happy I was with him. We switched places so that I was lying on top of him and we stayed like that for the rest of the night. Surprisingly enough, the couch was rather comfortable.


End file.
